Henry Ashford and the Goblet of Fire
by Quatermass
Summary: Long ago, Harry Potter was sold by his uncle to the Umbrella Corporation. But when the Goblet of Fire picks the champions for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Harry, now Henry Ashford, is summoned to Hogwarts, out of the stasis tank he had been in. And so too has his mother. Alexia Ashford decides to use the Tri-Wizard Tournament to test the power of T-Veronica...and her own magic...
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

Much of the following, I wrote when I first came to write what was then _Harry Ashford and the Philosopher's Stone_. Times have changed since then, but I am leaving much of this foreword intact to reflect my thoughts going into this story, long before it became this one.

Many Harry Potter fanfics start with the supposition, what if Harry was adopted by someone other than the Dursleys, either within the Potterverse, or else by some other fictional character or characters? I've had more than a few ideas along these lines, but perhaps my craziest was Harry being adopted by one of the villains of _Resident Evil_. Namely Alexia Ashford.

Alexia is unique amongst _Resident Evil_ villains in many respects. Number one, she is one of the rare female villains, and is certainly the only one who wasn't being brainwashed or manipulated, unlike Excella or Carla (I don't count Annette Birkin, as her motivations are mostly to protect herself and her daughter, albeit laced with an unhealthy amount of paranoia, and Lisa Trevor is a tragic creature, not an actual villain, while Ada is very ambiguous, but ultimately apparently good). Certainly she was one of the better elements of _Resident Evil: Code Veronica_ , which I frankly didn't like, partly for gameplay reasons, and partly for Alfred and Steve. And her relationship with her brother, while highly disturbing, was rather touching in a perverse way.

But what if Alexia Ashford, by accident, found herself being a mother towards Harry? What if he was sold by the Dursleys to Umbrella shortly after he was found on their doorstep, and Alexia acquired him as an experimental subject? And what if her obsession with her experimental subject aroused the ire and jealousy of Alfred, and changed the events of both _Resident Evil_ and the Potterverse? I hope you'll enjoy the results.

Of course, after the above foreword, which was originally written for _Harry Ashford and the Philosopher's Stone_ , I have to intervene here, and add some reasons why I changed it. There were a number of reasons.

I like to keep my fanfics relatively fresh, with my Harry Potter fanfics starting at various times in the canon. My Cetra Heritage Saga, as well as _Is Your Great-Aunt an A.I?!_ , start more or less at the beginning of the series, something I intend for my next 'pure' Harry Potter fanfic, still yet to be written. Others, like _A Third Summoner, Lux in Tenebris Lucet: Renovatur_ , and _Sins of the Father_ , start long before the series begins, though _Lux in Tenebris Lucet: Renovatur_ will definitely go through the stations of canon. _In Spite of Obstinate Men_ begins at the start of Year 3, the original version of _Lux in Tenebris Lucet_ begins (proper) in Year 4, _Harry Potter and the Blue Haired Angel_ and _Heather Potter and the Legacy of Alessa_ have their origins in Year 5, and _Broken Tools_ is set in an alternate version, post-Year 7.

I decided, given how much the relationship between Harry and Alexia would be like that between Harry and GLaDOS in _Is Your Great-Aunt an A.I?!_ , I needed to start it later to distinguish it from that work. In addition, Spencer's project is renamed, originally being called Project Hecate, a name I used in the later-written but earlier published _Lux in Tenebris Lucet: Renovatur_.

Those who have read the original _Lux in Tenebris Lucet_ will know what will happen to bring Harry and Alexia to Hogwarts. I'm using the same trope.

Some disclaimers. Firstly, this is an M-rated work for various reasons. While the relationship between Harry and Alexia will be disturbing, it will be that of a mother and son, or a sibling relationship, nothing more. That being said, there will be many disturbing themes, potential violence, horror, and the like. It is _Resident Evil_ , after all. You have been warned.

Secondly, I will be fiddling around with the timelines of the _Resident Evil_ series. And elements of the _Resident Evil_ characters will be taken from both the games proper, and the _Chronicles_ games. Annotations will make things clearer.

Thirdly, there _will_ be spoilers for both the games and the Harry Potter books. However, there will be no bashing, or at least a bare minimum at most. The Harry Potter characters have their bad points, sure, and these will be highlighted. But they also have their good points.

Finally, this is a fan-written work. _Resident Evil_ , Harry Potter, and the characters and scenarios are property of their respective owners. Please, support the official release. Otherwise, Alexia will use you for a test subject…or set you on fire. Whatever takes her fancy.


	2. Prologue: Project Medea

**PROLOGUE:**

 **PROJECT MEDEA**

"Have you gone completely insane, Spencer?"

Alexia Ashford considered it beneath her to emit such a blatant outburst. She also normally considered it beneath her to agree with William Birkin, the second youngest genius of the Umbrella Corporation and a man who had appointed himself as her most vicious rival. And yet, in this situation and in the privacy of her own head, she deigned to do so, simply because his blunt assessment, on the face of it, seemed correct. Ozwell Spencer, the head of Umbrella, had summoned her away from her important work on T-Veronica, for something like this. She knew the old man had megalomaniacal tendencies and a ridiculous case of thanatophobia. That, she could understand. She just didn't think that he was so delusional as to be completely unconnected with reality, and yet, he seemed to be indicating this very thing.

Ozwell Spencer, reclined in his chair in his study, narrowed his eyes at Birkin. "I can assure you, _Mister_ Birkin," Spencer said, coldly and deliberately omitting Birkin's doctorate, "that I am neither insane, nor am I in the habit of performing practical jokes at the expense of my most valuable researchers." His aquiline, forbidding face moved along those present. Alexia didn't look at her two fellow researchers, but she knew what they looked like all the same. William Birkin with his messy brown hair and intense features. Cold, calm, and aloof Albert Wesker, with his short blonde hair, and his eyes almost perpetually hidden by sunglasses.

What did Spencer see when he looked at her? Physically, a girl of eleven years of age, blonde hair and blue eyes, the paragon of beauty, even at her age. But what did he see her as? An asset? A threat? Did he know of her past? She had only just learned of what her father had done(1). Alfred had wanted to take action immediately, but Spencer had summoned her before she could make the arrangements, and she had told Alfred to wait. Hopefully her brother wouldn't do anything too hasty.

"Spencer," Wesker said, his cultured purr filled with just enough deference but also his own authority to walk the line, "regardless, you do understand that this is more than a little hard to believe. What we are doing with both Progenitor and the Tyrant Virus(2) pushes the boundary of what we know is true about biology to its very limits. But this is another matter entirely."

Spencer nodded at Wesker, only for his eyes to fall on Alexia. "You've been quiet, Alexia Ashford."

Alexia would have shrugged if she had any inclination. Instead, she said, " _Video et taceo_."

Spencer chuckled, a rare occurrence from the usually stoic man, and Wesker smirked, though Birkin could only scowl at her, as he usually did. _Video et taceo_ was the motto of Queen Elizabeth the First of England. Roughly translated, it means _I keep my eyes open, and my mouth shut(_ _3)_.

"Nonetheless," Spencer said, once the moment of levity had passed, "it is true. Magic does exist in the world. I know this better than virtually anyone else at the Umbrella Corporation, as I was born to magical parents, though I had no ability of my own. They called me a Squib. They were disgusted with me, for they were an arrogant Pureblood family who had no time for the weak. I was forced to find other means to power other than magic, and found biology to be an excellent avenue to that power. You know the history of Umbrella. But while the Progenitor Virus and the T-Virus were the primary forces driving Umbrella's rise, there had always been one thing at the back of my mind. Magic has a genetic component, that I am sure of, and I want what was meant to be mine by birthright. The only problem was, finding a wizard or a witch to perform tests on. And through one of our minor subsidiaries, we have found such a subject."

It was Wesker who prompted Spencer to continue. "May I ask through which subsidiary?"

"Grunnings. It's a British company that specialises in making drills. It was with Grunnings drills that many key Umbrella facilities were built, including Rockfort Island and the Antarctic base," Spencer said, looking at Alexia significantly. "However, one of its more petty managers began complaining vocally about a child he had been left with by his late sister-in-law. I happened to be visiting when he complained about a freakish nephew by the name of Harry Potter. I found myself intrigued, and asked the man, stoking him with flattery and vague promises of advancement. For you see, I knew that there was a prominent magical family called the Potters, who had recently been all but wiped out by the actions of a wizard terrorist. As it turned out, Harry Potter was the only survivor. I offered to take the boy off his hands in exchange for a relatively paltry raise in his salary and the promise of promotion. He accepted. The boy is currently in my personal laboratory." Spencer got to his feet, plucking a walking stick from where it leaned against the wall, and smiled at his researchers. "Let's go meet the Boy Who Lived, shall we?"

* * *

The infant boy wasn't that impressive. Black hair and green eyes, but he looked like just about every other baby, in Alexia's opinion. He was currently ensconced in a cot, which looked incongruous in the middle of the private laboratory (or at least the lowest hazard rated section) of Ozwell Spencer.

But then, you saw the scar. A nasty, jagged thing that reminded Alexia of a lightning bolt. Inflamed and ugly-looking, etched into his forehead.

As Alexia and Birkin looked down at him, Wesker turned to Spencer. "You called this child the Boy Who Lived. Why?"

"Hyperbole. Supposedly, this boy survived a magical attack known as the Killing Curse, or _Avada Kedavra_."

Birkin couldn't help but snort. Alexia nearly joined him, but her control managed to prevent her, thankfully. "Abracadabra? Yeah, ha ha, Spencer. Maybe we can call this project you want started Project Alakazam."

Spencer, incensed, swatted at Birkin's head with his walking stick, enough to raise a nasty lump and cause pain, but not enough to do anything more serious. "Insolent brat!" Spencer snapped angrily. " _Avada Kedavra_ is a curse that kills on impact. The only known way to avoid being killed is either to dodge it, or to make sure you have something nice and solid between you and it. Lord Voldemort, who is the terrorist I mentioned, had a nasty habit of using it."

"Voldemort?" Wesker asked with a frown. "Sounds French. ' _Flight of Death_ ' or something like that."

"He is British. I believe he actually derived his ridiculous _nom de guerre_ from an anagram of his real name, Tom Marvolo Riddle. But back to my point. As ridiculous as his name sounds, he was an unrepentant terrorist who murdered many non-magical people, along with wizards and witches born of non-magicals. He often used the Killing Curse, but somehow, despite being able to murder Harry Potter's parents, he succumbed to his magic backfiring on him when he tried to kill Harry. How, nobody understands. Because he lived through what people think was the Killing Curse, he is considered the Boy Who Lived. A celebrity long before he is even out of diapers." Spencer sniffed disdainfully. "I imagine that senile old fool Dumbledore…" This time, Alexia couldn't suppress a titter, and Birkin, despite his bruise, joined in. Spencer let them laugh with a nod. "Oh don't be fooled, he is a powerful wizard, but he has cobwebs in the brain of late. And I presume he left Harry with his relatives to save him from his own celebrity."

"It couldn't save him from relatives willing to sell him off to the highest bidder," Wesker observed.

"Getting sentimental, Albert?" Alexia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hardly. The man must have cobwebs in the brain indeed if he didn't see how hostile they must have been to the boy. Assuming, of course, that your fairy tale is true, Spencer."

"Of course it isn't true!" Birkin snapped. "You want to pursue fairy tales, Spencer? Go right ahead! Albert and I are working on serious research with Dr Marcus! I was working on those new viruses we found in that mutant bitch(4), and you drag me out here for this?" Birkin shook his head in a way that clearly suggested that his current thought at this moment was _Fuck this, I'm out_. And with that, he strode out of the laboratory.

After a pause, Wesker said quietly, "William needed to handle that better. But he has a point, Spencer. The viruses we recently discovered in Lisa Trevor have more potential than something that we haven't yet proved exists. Surely you can find someone on your personal staff to do this? I'm sorry, Spencer." And with that, Wesker left, following Birkin.

At the moment, only Alexia and Spencer were left in the room. Spencer didn't say anything, merely looking expectantly at Alexia. Alexia didn't meet his gaze, merely looking down at Harry Potter contemplatively. Someone observing her might have been put in mind of a predator looking at prey, although anyone thinking in terms as crude as the natural predator-prey relationship, or in the dark and sordid terms of a child predator, would be sorely mistaken.

Spencer had, in effect, challenged her. Alexia didn't believe in magic. But she also knew that, as paranoid and fanciful Spencer was, he was also not a fool. Oh, his scientific knowledge was not even adequate, and she knew that he was ridiculously paranoid, but he was not an idiot. Unless he had suffered from some sort of catastrophic brain damage.

Plus, even assuming Spencer's story to be fanciful delusion, she could accept him as a new test subject. She needed as many as she could, and Rockfort and its prison population could only supply so much. And her work on T-Veronica could be postponed until she found the right test subject. Her father, perhaps, for his lies.

Eventually, she said, "I will need a sample of your blood, Spencer. Can you obtain blood from any other magical people?"

"If it were that easy, I wouldn't have needed Harry," Spencer replied coolly. However, his expression showed some approval. He had discerned her intent from her words. "Why my blood?"

"Genotype and phenotype comparison. I want to see what genes you share with him, and what you don't, and what genes that you share that other people don't. Unfortunately, I'll have to work with a small sample size, namely one baby. And we'll need to work on genetic grafting techniques. I presume, by your words, that you want the ability to graft genes that confer magic upon anyone?"

Spencer nodded, though his eyes told the story that he only wanted that power. Nobody else.

"Then I will attempt it. But if this turns out to be a waste of my time, Spencer…" She left the threat hanging in the air. Not that she could do much to assail Spencer: leaving aside the security around him normally (his guards were currently waiting outside the room, monitoring the situation, so that if she assaulted him, they'd enter immediately and turn her into a fine red paste), the Ashfords were the laughing stock of Umbrella. But…she could use his claims of magic as a weapon. Poisoned ideas were often better weapons than a gun or a knife. Or a virus.

Spencer, of course, responded to the threat with a haughty sniff. "I suggest, then, that you get to work. I have decided on a codename for this project."

 _Of course you have_ , Alexia groaned to herself. The original name of the T-Virus was the Tyrant virus, and Spencer loved his hyperbole. Alexia called her new virus T-Veronica, but to honour her ancestor and mother. "What Project name? I hope you aren't taking Birkin's suggestion for a name seriously."

"No. I decided on it as soon as I got Potter. It will be called…" He paused, believing that would add suitable gravitas to his pronouncement. Alexia thought it made him look like a senile idiot. Eventually, he said, "…Project Medea(5)."

Alexia had to admit, it was an appropriate name. The most famous witch of Greek myth. And a fitting name for her, once she used it, and T-Veronica, to ascend to godhood…

 **PROLOGUE ANNOTATIONS**

 **And here we have it, the prologue of the revised version of this story. There isn't that much difference from what I had originally written, save for changing the project name.**

 **You'll notice that Spencer's ambitions and past are similar to Genevieve Aristide in** ** _Lux in Tenebris Lucet: Renovatur_** **. This is no accident: I reused it when it seemed I wasn't going to be able to use this story initially. Just roll with it.**

 **1\. I had this taking place in early 1982 (Voldemort's attack on Godric's Hollow occurred on Halloween, 1981). I've probably fudged the** ** _Resident Evil_** **timeline more than a little, but Alexia has just learned, along with Alfred, of them being clones/genetic experiments. But the outcome, as you will see in the next chapter, is very different…**

 **2\. I'm not sure when the first G-Virus proto-strains were extracted from Lisa Trevor. However, the Tyrant virus is the full name for the T-Virus.**

 **3.** ** _Video et taceo_** **was indeed the motto (or one of them) of Queen Elizabeth the First. It literally means 'I see, and remain silent', but I couldn't resist a** ** _Doctor Who_** **reference in the wording. That being said, given that the story it comes from,** ** _The Tomb of the Cybermen_** **, was still missing in 1982 (it would be found a decade later), though perhaps Spencer or Alexia had read Gerry Davis' novelisation.**

 **4\. A reference to Lisa Trevor, of course. Whether the viruses found were the original strains of what would become the G-Virus, I don't know. I'm not that certain of the timeline.**

 **5\. Medea being the famous witch of Greek mythology, just as Hecate (the original name for the title) was the Greek goddess of witchcraft.**


	3. Chapter 1: Abduction

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **ABDUCTION**

 _October 31_ _st_ _, 1994. Umbrella Special Research Facility. Antarctica._

Alexander Ashford was both eager, and yet frightened. Many years had passed since he and his family had become the laughingstock of Umbrella (though it was better than what happened to Dr Marcus some years ago: killed, and subjected to a form of _damnatio memoriae(_ _1_ _)_ ). And years had passed since the events that had robbed him of his children.

Well, not permanently. After all, that was why he had travelled to Antarctica, the frozen arsehole of the world (even he, with his aristocratic origins, couldn't help but agree with the crude but apt term his workers gave it). Officially, this base didn't exist, although in order to assuage the few governments who did know, the purpose of the base was as a research facility into the effects of exposure to cold temperatures. Indeed, researchers from a nearby base were sometimes brought in to act as test subjects for novel treatments of frostbite and snow blindness. But only to the public areas, naturally.

Alexander Ashford considered himself a moral man, a laughable sentiment for a man working for a company like the Umbrella Corporation. But be that as it may, he was more concerned about improving the human condition, and his research was only tolerated by that old buzzard Ozwell Spencer because Spencer wanted immortality, or at least improvements to his health. Alexander, however, had to accept the more immoral sides of Umbrella, and he could suffer that shame very well. He'd had years of practise.

But now, he had some small pride left. He was frightened of what this day would bring, but perhaps he needn't be so afraid after all. The Veronica Project, his attempt at reviving his ancestor, hadn't been an unqualified success, but that may have been too much to hope for. But Alexia, the fruit of that project, had surpassed him in so many ways. A shame about her brother, though. Above average intelligence, but he was eclipsed by his sister. And that ended…badly. A distant, bestial howl echoing through the facility reminded Alexander of this.

Accompanied by his butler, Harman, Alexander entered the stasis storage room. A pair of capsules, each containing a young body, floating in a womb of cold nutrients, dominated the frosty room. One of them held a woman who could have been in her late teens, or her early twenties. The other, a boy, in his mid-teens. Technicians were busying themselves at various panels. "Report," Alexander said.

One of the technicians turned to him. "Everything looks good, sir," she said respectfully. "Life signs are nominal, signs of cellular degradation are absent. New physiology is taking hold. It seems that Alexia's project is a success, so far."

Alexander couldn't help a smirk crossing his features. _Fuck you, Birkin. My little girl perfected something far better than your Tyrant Virus or even this new God Virus you keep harping on about(_ _2)_. Out loud, he asked, "How long now?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" the technician asked.

"Pardon?"

"Alexia sometimes uses the PA speakers in this room to give us directions, and ask for status reports. She has done so for some months now."

" _Oh, spoil the surprise, why don't you?_ "

The haughty, and yet, vaguely childish tones that emanated were more like the woman he saw in the tank and not the teenager who had entered, but Alexander knew. "Alexia…it's good to hear your voice again."

" _Likewise, though I am surprised to say so_ ," Alexia said through the speakers, though her eyes were still closed in repose. " _I find myself missing you, father. Certainly more so than that jealous oaf I called a brother. He keeps disturbing my repose._ "

Another hoarse roar echoed through the facility. You could hear the pout in Alexia's voice when she said, " _There he goes again. Anyway, you wished to know when we can come out? Technically, we can come out now. However, I'm insisting on a safety margin of another year or so. I am not worried for myself, but for Henry._ "

"Is he all right?"

" _Of course. Veronica links us. He hasn't obtained the ability to speak to the outside world like I am now, but we speak to each other's hearts and minds. I have been teaching him much over the past few years, since we became aware, even in stasis. He sends greetings, by the way. What news of Umbrella?_ "

"Some. Since you entered stasis, Spencer had Marcus killed."

" _Ooh, by Albert, no doubt?_ "

"And Birkin."

" _I didn't know dear William had it in him. How are they faring, anyway? Are they still working in Raccoon City?_ "

"Last I heard, yes. William's daughter is doing well. She was only a couple of years old before you and Henry went into stasis."

" _And what of his other offspring? His research into the Tyrant Virus and its strains?_ "

"He's developed a new virus, known as the G-Virus. G for God."

A most unlady-like snort of laughter emitted from the speakers. " _Oh, how delightfully droll. I could've called Veronica the same thing, but I chose to honour my ancestor, and mother, instead. I'd be most interested to see what viral monster he has made, though. It might be mildly amusing._ "

"I don't know much about it, but apparently they found the original form of the G-Virus within the Trevor woman."

" _Not surprising. She's had so many viruses pumped into her over the years, she…what is this?_ "

That was what Alexander wanted to know, for blue flames seemed to be playing about the two slumbering forms in their stasis tanks. Suddenly, Alexia's eyes snapped open, showing an expression Alexander had never seen in those eyes before.

 _Panic_.

"What the hell is going on?!" Alexander demanded.

"A surge of energy," the technician whom he had talked to said, close to panic herself. "Similar to those readings seen in Project Medea."

Suddenly, there was a flare of cyan light, Alexia's scream cut off in a crunch of metal and plastic. As Alexander blinked the afterimage from his eyes, he was treated to a grotesque sight. Both stasis chambers had imploded, chilled oxygenated liquid flowing from the cracks. He ran over, panicked, only to have some of that panic relieved by the fact that no bodies were present, no blood, no pulped flesh or broken bones.

But they were still missing. _Something_ had taken his daughter, and his adopted grandson.

But what?

* * *

There were few people alive today who understood the true nature of the Goblet of Fire. Indeed, even amongst the Unspeakables, there were few. Of those currently present in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, only Albus Dumbledore could be said to have anywhere near that kind of understanding, and he would be the first to admit that his understanding of the Goblet's true nature was limited.

However, the Goblet of Fire was…intelligent. Aware, even.

It would be hard to define what sort of intelligence it was. Perhaps the closest analogy had only come around relatively recently. Magic often did things that, before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, would have been considered impossible. Flight, transport at astounding speeds, instant light without the need for firemaking, and more. But although they didn't call it such, the ancient wizards and witches all but created artificial intelligences and artificial sentiences. The famed Sorting Hat of Hogwarts was one such example.

The Goblet of Fire was perhaps not truly sentient, or even truly intelligent. But there was a basic awareness and intelligence within it. And it knew, on at least one level, that it had been tricked. It was unable to do anything, of course. The spell that had been cast on it prevented it from refusing to expelling the name it was going to be forced to expel.

But there was something it could do.

The name it was forced to accept was a name bound by fate to many people. But there was one whose binding was stronger than most. Not only that, but that name was associated with a being of such power, that if the Goblet was capable of feeling fear, it would be shivering. But it was incapable of feeling fear. It could see the darkness around this being, but it saw the light in the darkness, connected to the fourth name.

After all, what could be better protection than a devoted mother?

The Goblet made its decision. And having done so, it reached out with its magic…

* * *

Barty Crouch Junior fought hard to keep the smile off his face. It took every ounce of both his Occlumency training and his acting ability to keep up the appearance that he was Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody. But he knew that the first step to bringing back his lord and master, as well as bringing about the downfall of the Boy Who Lived, otherwise known as Harry Potter.

Barty had to admit, he was enjoying this role he was playing. He had once entertained ambitions of being an actor(3), before the disapproval of his father, amongst other factors, scuppered them. One of the biggest regrets in a life populated by them. But not now. He was serving his master, Lord Voldemort, and playing a key role in this long game that would bring his master back to his full powers.

To actually teach these students was surprisingly pleasing too. Perhaps being a teacher was a calling he should have considered. Yet another what-could-have-been he had to dismiss. But even so, teaching these children how to recognise and avoid the Unforgivable Curses held a strange satisfaction to it, even if he had to deal with Mudbloods, blood-traitors, and children of traitors to Voldemort's cause. Of course, there were side-benefits. Demonstrating the Cruciatus curse in front of that near-Squib Longbottom had a perverse amusement. Barty hadn't participated as much as the Lestranges had in torturing the boy's parents, and to tell the truth, that had made him feel ill. He would use _Crucio_ on someone he truly hated, to be sure, like his father, and he would use it for interrogation. But the Lestranges just did it out of sheer sadistic enjoyment. Even so, seeing Longbottom's face after he had stopped using the Cruciatus curse was amusing. He was no Harry Potter. A weak near-Squib who seemed to prefer pottering around in gardens. Barty sneered inwardly.

But now, the stage was set, the players were in position, as were the props. And Barty was directing it. A strong _Confundus_ on the Goblet, along with a few other charms and spells, and it accepted the name of Harry Potter. He would become the fourth champion of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

The Boy Who Lived had disappeared long ago. Many thought him dead, with Dumbledore showing signs that he feared this much. But Voldemort seemed to think otherwise, and so, Barty Crouch Junior obeyed, hoping that the magic of the Goblet of Fire would do what no wizard had managed, not even Dumbledore.

He looked at the occupants of the Great Hall, noting the more prominent ones. The blood-traitor Ron Weasley, stuffing his face, and the Mudblood Hermione Granger, a precocious little bitch who nonetheless had quite a lot of intelligence. A shame she wasn't born to a Pureblood family. And then there were all the children of the cowards at the Slytherin table, led by Draco Malfoy. Blond ferret, he snickered.

And there were two cowards present in the Great Hall too. Karkaroff, the stool pigeon (to use the Muggle term) and Snape, who seemed to serve two masters. He had no doubt that Snape would run back to Voldemort once his master arose again, but Karkaroff would merely run away. Karkaroff certainly avoided him a lot, though that was due to the Polyjuice potion disguise of Mad-Eye Moody, the man who had arrested him in the first place.

And then there were the teachers. Some fools, others dangerous fools, and others, just dangerous. Voldemort had coached him on who to be especially careful with. And, of course, speaking of fools, there was his Imperiused father, and that idiot Bagman.

It was heartening to Barty that he was kept in the Dark Lord's confidence. He was one of the few Death Eaters who knew of Voldemort's true parentage(4). Barty accepted this with surprising ease: Voldemort's experience with being a Halfblood proved that relationships between Muggles and Magicals didn't work. And Voldemort was powerful anyway. And, of course, there was the shared experience of having a disappointing father.

Barty didn't truly buy into the whole blood purity thing. Rather, it was about power. _There is only power, and those too weak to seek it_ , his master had said on many an occasion. The power to bring the Magical World to the supremacy it so richly deserved, and to sweep away the detritus in the way. The Mudbloods, Halfbloods and blood-traitors, all would be put to use in the new order, or would be destroyed to make way for the new hierarchy, the true hierarchy.

He smiled inwardly again when the time arrived for the Goblet to begin spitting out names. That old fool Dumbledore caught the first parchment that wafted out. Viktor Krum was announced as the Champion for Durmstrang. Not surprising, given that he was a renowned Quidditch player, already playing for Bulgaria in the World Cup not so long ago.

The next name was that of the champion for Beauxbatons. It turned out to be that Veela half-breed, Fleur Delacour. Snooty little cow, he thought.

And then, the champion for Hogwarts. Cedric Diggory. A Hufflepuff, of all things. Then again, it didn't do well to dismiss them. Of course, he was, for the moment, irrelevant.

Now the time had come to play his part. He faked a look of surprise as the Goblet flared once more, while Dumbledore was in the middle of a speech, and spat out a parchment that the old fool caught, and read out the name.

"Harry Potter."

The reaction was interesting. Pandemonium broke out, whispers and speculation. People were wondering what was going on. Even Dumbledore looked shocked.

Suddenly, the floor in front of the Goblet burst into blue fire, dancing and flickering, increasing in intensity, before suddenly dispelling, to reveal not one…but two figures, sprawled on the stone floor. Naked, covered in liquid, and unmoving. At least at first.

Then, one of them coughed out some liquid, before getting, a little unsteadily at first, to their feet. A woman, apparently in her mid-twenties, with the regal beauty of a deity and the haughty arrogance of a Malfoy. Blonde-haired, too, and piercing blue eyes. She stood, apparently uncaring about her state of undress, the Great Hall hushed, made silent by the bizarre turn of events.

She inhaled deeply, either to calm herself, or to savour air that she hadn't breathed for a long time. Then, she said, in a voice that was both regal and imperious, and yet had a faintly childish air, "I am Lady Alexia Ashford, the Heir to the Ashford legacy. And you have only but a short time to explain what you have done to me and my child, before I make my… _displeasure_ known."

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, that just happened.**

 **Eagle-eyed readers who have read the original version of** ** _Lux in Tenebris Lucet_** **will notice that I took a significant proportion of this chapter from the first chapter of this work. As that version is abandoned, I saw no reason why I shouldn't recycle it. I've kept the original annotations as well. If you don't like it, well, bite me.**

 **1\. A rather nasty punishment inflicted by the Romans, although variations have occurred worldwide and throughout history, and even in relatively recent times: witness what happened to officials in Stalinist Russia who fell out of favour, as well as the stripping of honours from the late Jimmy Saville, and the refusal to repeat TV shows involving the paedophilic presenter. Basically, not only are you executed, but as many traces of your existence (like records, paintings, statues, photographs in modern times) are altered or destroyed. Literally means 'damnation of memory'. Anyone who has read** ** _Nineteen Eighty-Four_** **will know this process as making an 'unperson' of people. While James Marcus was never completely forgotten, Spencer clearly did much to erase Marcus' achievements with the T-Virus.**

 **2\. 'God-Virus' is the full name of the G-Virus. Why do you think the antidote is called 'Devil'?**

 **3\. Barty's imitation of Mad-Eye was so good, it fooled Dumbledore, an old friend of Moody's. I put this in as a partial explanation.**

 **4\. It's implied, though not stated, that Barty Crouch Junior knows that Voldemort is a Halfblood. The statements as mentioned in the book are still ambiguous, so Voldemort could have left that detail out, but here, I've confirmed it. Why would Voldemort divulge such a thing? Simple. Voldemort, for all his being a batshit crazy psychopath, is good at reading people. Helps if you're good at Legilimency, obviously. It's part of the reason why I wrote Barty as knowing more about Muggles, but holding them in contempt anyway. Barty respects Voldemort's power, and he's also treated as a favoured son by the Dark Lord, something he never got from his own father.**


	4. Chapter 2: Henry Ashford

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **HENRY ASHFORD**

Having delivered her threat, Alexia Ashford knelt down next to Henry. The transit had been exceedingly unpleasant, and as whatever had transported them here had done so by taking them out of their stasis tanks, it meant that they were also in danger of suffering from the side effects of a very sudden removal from them. And of course, the possibility of one or both of them unable to control Veronica, as the safety margin was now a moot point.

As she put a hand to Henry's face, he woke, his eyes wide, before he choked out the stasis fluid. She cradled him, murmuring soothing words to him as he completed this farcical premature rebirth. Once she was sure he was okay, she stood once more, not caring about her nudity. "Well? I have been waiting long enough."

She looked around the room she had ended up in. It seemed rather medieval, like some massive hall in a castle, the ceiling looking like the night sky. Candles floated in the air above a quartet of tables, with children and teenagers in robes sitting at them. Near where she was was a large table with adults of varying ages, sizes (two massive ones! And a dwarf of some kind!), and appearances, all staring at her in surprise and bafflement. Almost next to her was a goblet sitting on a stone plinth, emitting blue flames. And next to said goblet was an old man who was dressed as a pantomime version of Merlin, all purple robes and long beard.

"Lady Ashford," the old pantomime Merlin said, "I thought you could tell us that. Someone has placed the name of one Harry Potter in the Goblet of Fire. I do not know how, though I suspect why. Somehow, I believe the Goblet's magic brought you both here. And I believe that the boy there is none other than Harry Potter."

Alexia's eyes narrowed. "His name is Henry Ashford. He is my son, by adoption if not by blood. And while you have bought some time, old man, you haven't satisfied me."

"How dare a mere Muggle threaten us!" snarled a rather thin, hard-faced man with an overly neat moustache and the look of being steadily mothballed about him.

Veronica sang her song to Alexia, and with a cold, thin, smile, Alexia ran her now razor sharp thumbnail along her palm, slicing it open, and allowed blood to drip onto the stone floor before the palm healed shut. Within a second, it ignited, bursting into flames for a few seconds. As they stared, shocked, she asked, gazing the moustachioed moron in the eyes, "Would you care to repeat your rather childish outburst? Or would you prefer to accede to my not unreasonable request?"

"That will not be necessary, my dear lady, but perhaps you and your ward would want some clothing first?" the Merlin wannabe asked.

She was amused by his remark, but conceded mentally it would do better to ask for information (and to make threats, for that matter) while clothed. Then again, it would be those here who were at a disadvantage. She was the paragon of divine beauty, with a body women would kill to have, she knew. Veronica Ashford had been like that, and she was Veronica's clone, more or less. And Henry…a slender but lithe body, muscled like an athlete, wiry and agile, his green eyes blinking in confusion as he got shakily to his feet. Alexa said, "That would be acceptable."

The old man took a wand (really! A wand! How gauche!) slowly from his robes, and waved it. In short order, Alexia was dressed in robes not unlike the ones worn by one of the teachers. Not exactly the haute couture Alexia was used to, but it would do. Henry was soon garbed in the same robes as some of the students. "Mother," he said, having finally regained his voice, "where are we?"

"This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the old man said. "I am its headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore. And it seems that your ward is now, inexplicably, the fourth champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

Alexia raised an eyebrow. "How droll. I would hope that it goes from inexplicable to explicable before long. So, you are Dumbledore, hmm?"

"Indeed. We will continue this another time, as I will have to announce the fourth champion. If you both would kindly come with me…"

As they followed Dumbledore, Alexia sent Harry a message via their telepathic link. _Remember your deportment and diplomacy, Henry. And remember, they are yet to see the full potential of T-Veronica_.

 _Yes, yes, I know_ , Henry replied, a little irritably. He had become like that of late. Adolescence, what could you do? _But are we going to go through with this, mother?_

 _A tournament, of wizards and witches who are yet to understand the true power of Muggle ingenuity?_ Alexia smirked inwardly. _Why not? What better test of Veronica, than letting her sing in front of so many, and against whatever foes you may face? I will be there to guide you along the way. Just remember, though, you are famous to these churls, under your birth name. But you are an Ashford, first and foremost. Try not to let their slack-jawed gawking shake your composure. And remember not to let what they think of you and Veronica get to you._

 _Yes, mother_. She could hear the eye-roll over the mental link.

The moustached man had followed them, along with a man with lank, black hair, a hooked nose, and a face that seemed like its default expression was 'bit into something sour', a stern woman who looked like a benign stereotype of a witch, and a man who looked like Frankenstein's Monster with all the scars, with the addition of an eye that kept spinning in its socket. So too did one of the larger people, an incredibly tall woman, and a thin, intense man dressed in furs.

In the room beyond, waiting, were a trio of people in the late teens. One was a handsome boy with dark hair. Another was a somewhat thin, dark-eyed brooding boy, who had an aquiline demeanour. The last was a girl who seemed to be the image of Alexia herself when she was that age, but with silvery blonde hair, utterly beautiful.

It was the girl who spoke first, in a French accent. "What is it? Do they want us back in the Hall?"

" _Not quite yet_ ," Alexia said, in French. " _I'm afraid, young lady, that you are in for something of a shock._ "

" _Who are you?_ " the girl asked.

" _I will answer that in English_ ," Alexia said, before switching. "My name is Alexia Ashford. This is my adopted son, Henry Ashford, though you would know him better as Harry Potter. Some imbecile has put his name into the rather gauche magical artifact back out there, and summoned us from what was a really refreshing sleep. If you have any objections to it, I would suggest…actually, who is organising this little farce?"

"I am, and so is Mr Crouch," said a rather foolish-looking man who had also entered the room. He indicated the moustached man as Crouch. "Ludo Bagman, at your service."

"Good. I know who to confiscate breathing privileges from, then."

"Uh, I…"

"Oh, my mistake. Did I say breathing? I meant _breeding_."

"Is that a threat?" Mr Crouch asked.

"Well, was I too subtle? I wanted to avoid being vulgar and uncouth."

"You failed. Spectacularly," the lank-haired man remarked snidely.

"Oh, shame. Anyway, I suggest that any objections of the other champions and their carers should go to Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman, preferably before they gain the ability to sing soprano."

"If I may," Dumbledore said, "I would like to continue this without any more threats. Unfortunately, I have been told that having one's name accepted by the Goblet of Fire enters the person in question into a binding magical contract. If Henry does not compete, he forfeits his magic."

"And how do we know that he didn't put his name in himself?" demanded the thin, fur-clad man.

"Because both he and I were in a form of cryogenic stasis until now," Alexia said. "Do you think I was naked and breathing liquid for the entertainment value?"

"In any case, Igor, my Age Line would have prevented that," Dumbledore said. "And my precautions should have prevented an adult from putting it in."

"What's cryogenic stasis?" Bagman asked.

"I believe a good analogy would be like Sleeping Beauty, except in tanks filled with life-support equipment and…wait, you know nothing about Muggle technology, do you?" Alexia sighed, knowing the answer as soon as she asked it. "Never mind. The upshot is, my son and I are here now. He will be participating on behalf of the Umbrella Corporation."

She saw recognition in the faces of Dumbledore, the dark-haired man with the acid tongue, and the stereotypical-looking witch. The one called Igor, however, said, "This is absurd! An outrage! How can a Muggle corporation have an entrant into this tournament? And is this really Harry Potter?"

"I daresay it is," growled the voice of the Frankenstein wannabe. "I think someone wants Mr Potter dead. The tournament is very dangerous, after all. I'm surprised you didn't utter more of a protest, Alexia Ashford. Do you know anything about the Tri-Wizard Tournament?"

"I know very little about your world. Mostly the salient facts of recent history, of how my son apparently survived an instant-death curse at the hands of a wizarding version of a white-supremacist terrorist. It was rather careless of you to lose the boy you considered a saviour. As for it being dangerous…my son and I are _very_ dangerous indeed. And if there is a binding magical contract…for which I hope none of you are lying, for his sake…then what can my son do? Therefore, we are salvaging the situation."

"And the Goblet of Fire has been extinguished. It won't ignite again until the next Tournament," Bagman said, the very model of a false apologetic demeanour.

As the whole thing degenerated into an argument, Henry pinched his nose. "Mother, whatever happened to deportment and diplomacy?"

"It's not my fault they do not share the Ashford deportment and diplomatic skills."

 _Mother_ , he said using their telepathic link, _Last time you and Alfred got into an argument, he tried to shoot me, and you turned him into a test subject for T-Veronica. That was not a triumph of diplomacy_.

 _Diplomacy and deportment are not perfect_ , Alexia said, irritably. _Not all problems can be solved with the same tool_.

 _Of course not. For anything deportment and diplomacy can't solve, you have the experimental mutagenic viruses that can turn people into zombies or monsters_ , Henry snarked.

 _Whatever works, Henry_. The argument seemed to be dying down, so Alexia said, "Is there any insurmountable problems to our being here?"

Igor looked like he wanted to object, but Dumbledore said, "No, no. We will deal with this in due course. Mr Crouch?"

"The first task will take place on November 24th. It will be a test of your nerve and daring. As courage in the face of the unknown is vital to any truly great wizard, we will not be telling you any specifics. They will face the first task only with their wands, and cannot ask for or accept help of any kind from teachers," Crouch said. He then looked at Henry. "If you do not have a wand, Mr…Ashford, I suggest obtaining one as soon as possible."

Henry nodded, and then looked at the other champions. "I would like to apologise for inadvertently upstaging you. It was not my intention to do so, or to enter this tournament in the first place. May I know the names of my competitors?"

"Cedric. Cedric Diggory," the handsome boy said.

"Fleur Delacour," the French girl said.

"Viktor Krum," the aquiline boy said.

"Thank you. Once again, my most abject apologies for upstaging you in what was supposed to be a night of achievement for you all," Henry said, bowing. "I only hope that I can prove to be a worthy opponent in this tournament."

With that, much of the tension in the room was gone. The champions were looking at Henry with, if not respect, then with less rancour than before, and many of those present also held less venom in their gazes, though the one called Igor still had resentment smouldering in his eyes.

Dumbledore then went over to Henry and Alexia. "If I may speak to you in private…I think we have a lot to discuss..."

* * *

Dumbledore's office was cluttered with books and strange paraphernalia that looked highly illogical to Alexia, not to mention messy and disorganised. A magnificent red and gold bird was standing on a perch. "Sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore asked, offering a bowl filled with the confectionaries.

Alexia smiled, and took two, one for herself, and one for Harry. "I haven't had one of these in years. Literally," Alexia remarked.

"Hmm. Usually not many people take them when I offer them," Dumbledore observed.

After they had had the confectionary, Alexia looked Dumbledore in his eyes. They had twinkled before, but now, they were all business. For all his more duffer-like traits earlier, she knew now that she was in the presence of a powerful man. "You're wondering how I came by my son. You're very diplomatic, not objecting to my calling him such."

"I hold a position as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards," Dumbledore said. "A position that requires significant skill in diplomacy. You are a Muggle, but you hold yourself like a Pureblood noble, and you have significant power yourself."

Alexia smiled. "I _was_ a Muggle, as you would put it. What I demonstrated to that imbecile Crouch was not magic, true, but I have magic now, in addition to those powers. And it is thanks to Henry's idiot of an uncle that I have it. He sold Harry to Ozwell E Spencer, the head of the Umbrella Corporation."

"Spencer…" Dumbledore hissed in dismay.

"It turned out well in the end," Henry said. "I got a new mother and grandfather. And mother is now a witch. Through genetic engineering."

"Genetic…I think I have heard of that. A Muggle science, like a slower but permanent biological Transfiguration."

"Indeed. Through it, I gained magic." With a click of her fingers, she summoned a flame above it. She seemed actually amazed. "Hmm. Interesting. Anyway, I am sure that you would like to discuss the implications with my son and I, but we have both been rudely awakened from a very long sleep, and we would like a place to sleep until arrangements can be made."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. And Alexia smiled. While she had just divulged more than a few secrets of Umbrella to Dumbledore, she did so partly so that she could get back at Spencer. The paranoid old fart would probably have tried to kill her once she proved that Project Medea was a success.

Of course, there was bragging about the achievement, albeit in a manner that befitted the deportment and diplomacy of the Ashford family. But she had achieved something worth bragging about: changing her, a non-magical, into a witch. And combined with the song of Veronica, well, what could stop her?

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, I hoped you enjoyed that chapter, from the point of view of Alexia.**

 **Why did Dumbledore accede to Alexia so quickly? He wants information from her, and he knows that she has some sort of power that he may know little about. In addition, she has Harry with him, and thinks that catering to her within reason will let him find out what happened to him.**

 **Anyway, nothing else to note…**


	5. Chapter 3: Deities and Dentists

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **DEITIES AND DENTISTS**

If you counted his titles, Professor Albus Dumbledore had more letters after his name than almost everyone alive on the planet, enough for at least two alphabets(1). He wished he didn't have so many of the damned things. Many of them were undeserved, foisted upon him for beating his one-time friend and lover Gellert Grindleward. Never mind that Dumbledore dithered and dallied and debated about whether to confront him, though admittedly, there were other problems, like the Chamber of Secrets fiasco.

Dumbledore knew many unpleasant things about himself, things he was afraid of. He was a control freak. He was a skilled manipulator of people. He was, at times, an extreme utilitarian(2). And he hoarded secrets in the same way dragons of legend hoarded treasure. In short, the so-called Leader of the Light had darkness swirling around his soul, and he knew it.

But Dumbledore had more than a few good qualities. He had a childish whimsy that managed to work well with a wisdom acquired through long and often painful experience. He was a superb planner, and was also an excellent improviser (after all, there was that proverb that no plan survived contact with the enemy). He was vastly intelligent, and compassionate. And he had enough self-reflection to recognise his own faults. He hadn't been born with all of these traits, fully formed. Experience shaped many of these.

Even so, many a night in his office was spent wondering whether he was doing the right thing.

Case in point: Harry Potter. Or, as that woman insisted on calling him, Henry Ashford.

Dumbledore had heard a few unpleasant things about the Dursleys from Lily, and there was that intelligent but shrill and grasping sister of hers, the one who had begged for admittance to Hogwarts. But he had hoped the bonds of family, and the assurance of protection from Voldemort via the blood wards, would help Petunia and her family overcome their qualms. He hoped that Harry's life, spent isolated from a legend that even Dumbledore couldn't temper, would not be tainted by celebrity, that he would be brought up well-balanced.

That was Dumbledore's worst mistake since he had been seduced by the ideology of Grindleward.

Through an intermediary, someone had persuaded Vernon Dursley to effectively sell Harry Potter. To whom, Dumbledore could not discern at the time, despite trying everything. However, he had some nasty suspicions. The Dursleys were unrepentant, despite the fact that they had just performed a vile act of child trafficking, and, through breaking the blood wards, had just removed their best protection against Voldemort's supporters. Had Harry been sold into servitude, doomed to end up like a house elf? Or worse? Dumbledore was no stranger to the evils of the world. Then again, perhaps Harry may have had a lucky escape. The way the Dursleys were acting, they seemed set to use Harry as a house elf. And while Dumbledore would have kept him there to keep the blood wards active, it would have weighed on his conscience.

By the time Dumbledore knew the blood wards had broken, Harry Potter had been gone for over a year. And the trail had gone cold. He did have instruments telling him that Harry was alive, but that was it, and some years prior, the instruments went dead. Now, they buzzed with life, and Dumbledore realised, given Alexia's words, that he had been in a state where he was, in many regards, dead, frozen alive in a way that suspended most of his life functions.

He knew of no magical family called the Ashfords, though that meant little. However, when the Umbrella Corporation was mentioned, Dumbledore felt a little chill. He knew that one of its founders was Lord Ozwell E Spencer, a squib who was rumoured to have murdered his parents in order to claim what he considered his birthright. And he had heard darker rumours about the company itself.

It was too late to consider taking Harry back to the Dursleys now. The blood wards had collapsed, and the Dursleys had defied Dumbledore's instructions and discarded Harry in the same contemptuous manner as one would discard rubbish. He could only hope that, if Alexia Ashford was serious about being Harry Potter's adopted guardian, then she had means to protect Harry against Voldemort, and not just the private military he had heard Umbrella possessed.

Her demeanour seemed like that of the worst Pureblood attitudes. However, what little he had observed of Harry suggested that he had all of the better qualities, a polite demeanour and diplomatic attitude. He apologised to the three champions for stealing their glory. The main problem was his apparent domination by his adoptive mother.

That Alexia Ashford had managed to graft magical ability onto herself was astonishing…and highly disturbing. But he got the impression that her ability to set her blood on fire was not magic, but something else. It certainly didn't look like any spell he knew, and while his knowledge of dark magic wasn't comprehensive, he was widely read enough that he was sure he would have heard about something.

This was why he acceded to her demands. They weren't wholly unreasonable ones, her theatrical threats aside. In fact, he was sure her threats were just that: theatre. She would doubtless be capable of carrying them out, but she wielded them in order to intimidate the enemy. In any case, he gave her the information she wanted because he wanted to get information from her. And she had given some out, boasting of her achievement.

However, he still didn't know what to make of her. She was dangerous, true, but was she truly malevolent? He sincerely hoped not. Otherwise, he may have just made his gravest miscalculation since the last war…

* * *

The next morning, in the guest rooms provided, Alexia sang softly to herself as she showered, savouring the feeling of the hot water on her naked flesh.

 _There was a friendly but naïve king_

 _Who wed a very nasty queen._

 _The king was loved but_

 _The queen was feared._

 _She had a secret kept from the king,_

 _Who ruled the kingdom as her own._

 _The king knew not,_

 _His bride seemed as good as gold._

 _Till one day strolling in his court,_

 _An arrow pierced the kind king's heart,_

 _He lost his life_

 _And his lady love(_ _3)_.

Even objective listeners would have agreed that Alexia's singing voice was excellent, having a haunting quality to it.

Switching the shower off, she then left it, and went over to a mirror, wiping the condensation off it, and looking at herself. She had been in her late teens when she went into stasis, and had been a mother (by adoption) before she hit adolescence. Now here she was, a woman grown, superficially, with a body women would kill for, and men would kill each other to be in the mere presence of. But scratch the surface, and you had a _deity_ lurking beneath. While she wasn't exactly invincible, she had power that fool Spencer could only dream of. Veronica and Medea, combined within her cells. The daughter of two of the most powerful women in history, even if one of them was mythical.

She idly speculated who she would consider taking as a lover and consort. Wesker came to mind. The man had a refreshingly independent streak and understood power. The problem is with both is that he might not understand how much she was willing to share her power (which was to say, save with Henry, not at all). During her time in stasis, linked to Henry, she knew that it would take time before she could bring the world under her power. At first, she wanted to do so overtly, like the queen of an insect hive. But over time, she realised that subtlety was better. Spencer had a shade of the right idea: he ruled Umbrella and its subsidiaries from the shadows, taking action only when necessary. But he wasn't subtle enough: the killing of James Marcus and the attempted erasure of his memory was noted by her father.

Once she got the opportunity, she was going to do some investigation of Marcus' old labs, as well as the Spencer Mansion, both outside Raccoon City. See if there were any interesting viruses or BOWs that Marcus had left. And her interest in the Trevor woman was growing. Her father had mentioned that Birkin found the initial form of the G-Virus in it. If nothing else, it might be fun to infect Lisa Trevor with T-Veronica and see what happened.

She dressed in the robes provided, before leaving. Henry was sitting up in bed, reading a book from the library. He was scowling. "This is utter rubbish!" he snarled contemptuously, throwing the book to Alexia, who caught it deftly, and looked at it. _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ , she read, and a relatively recent book. "They speak so casually of things they know nothing about!" he said, scowling. "You told me more about Voldemort and my parents, through what you learnt from Spencer, than is in that inane rubbish!"

Alexia, amused, flicked to the relevant sections, and laughed scornfully after a quick read. "You are right, it is rubbish, though your restraint is marvellous, my dear Henry. I would have called this utter shit. Or rather, fit only for the privy as use as toilet paper. Leaving aside the gross inaccuracies and the fabrications, there are disturbingly messianic tones in it."

"You're the one with the god complex, Mother," Henry said archly.

"Well, my first commandment for the day is, _Thou shalt undertake thy ablutions_ ," Alexia said with a smirk. "It has been some time since I have enjoyed a hot shower, and I'm sure you will too. Besides, enhanced by Veronica we may be, but I am sure that it won't eliminate body odour."

Henry got out of bed, and went to the showers. "Still, it could be worse. Those infected with the T-Virus stink of worse than body odour," he said, before closing the door.

Alexia chuckled to herself. That was true. The T-Virus, save in very rare cases, turned just about every person it infected, indeed, every mammalian lifeform into a zombie. Humans became slow and sluggish, losing their mental facilities, but becoming hungry for flesh and aggressive. Dogs tended to rot, but become more aggressive. She also knew that crows could turn into zombies, or at least become massively aggressive.

Another book on the shelf turned out to be _Hogwarts: A History_. She idly wondered which House table she would sit with. Slytherin, as the House of the ambitious, sounded good, but she was very much one who prized knowledge, and given that Slytherin had a nasty habit of producing darker wizards and witches, it would be safer to join the Ravenclaws. She'd feel more at home amongst those who enjoyed learning and pushing the boundaries of knowledge than amongst those as hungry for power as she was. She'd be less threatening that way.

Of course, it was necessary that she find some way to contact Umbrella, and specifically, her father. Given her initial experiments into Henry's magic before they both went into stasis, she needed an EMP-shielded communicator. But how would she get one of those?

* * *

The answer came during breakfast. Alexia amused herself by discussing Beauxbatons with Fleur Delacour in French. It seemed that Henry's apology had worked wonders. Henry himself had struck up a conversation with a bushy-haired girl who had prominent teeth. Alexia was surprised that the girl, whose name was Hermione, could keep up with the discussion Henry had about genetic engineering. Another girl, with a dreamy expression and blonde hair, sometimes interjected. Her name was Luna, rather appropriately. Luna seemed to be a Pureblood, while Hermione was a Muggleborn, but the former seemed, despite her rather dreamy demeanour, to know something about the science as well.

Eventually, Fleur and Alexia ran out of small talk, and Alexia paid more attention to the conversation between Harry and Hermione.

"…But I am still not sure how such a virus could infect someone so swiftly," Hermione was saying. "Or rather, enough to show symptoms. It would have to work faster than any known virus, I would think." Henry was claiming the T-Virus to be an experimental vector virus for genetic engineering, rather than the biological weapon it was.

"It's been engineered in multiple forms. And even Umbrella's top researchers haven't fully figured out why it can do so," Henry said, truthfully.

"It may be a magical virus," Luna said. "Tales are told of the _Sonnentreppe_ plant in Kijuju. My daddy and I study legends of magical animals and plants. It used to grant great powers to the chosen kings of the Ndipaya Kingdom(4)."

Alexia frowned. She was privy to some of the secrets of Umbrella, and one of them was the source of the Progenitor Virus. Said source was exactly what Luna was speaking about, a remote cave in a small part of Africa where Umbrella held sway. Was Progenitor a magical virus?

"I'm surprised I didn't know more about this," Hermione said. "My parents work for Umbrella."

Alexia looked at her sharply. "Your parents work for Umbrella? Our London branch?"

"Yes, Lady Ashford. I have heard a little of your reputation: one of the youngest people in the world, never mind in Umbrella, to get a doctorate. My parents are dentists. At least, that's what they say."

Alexia stifled a chuckle. Not just at Hermione revealing she had links to Umbrella, but to the euphemism as well. It was possible one of them was a real dentist: Umbrella employed many people in-house in order to keep their research secret, including medical personnel of many specialties. But in fact, a Dentist was a euphemism used by the executives to describe special security agents who could be deployed to biohazard spills and clean up, as well as bodyguards of the top brass…and assassins. They were called Dentists because they were required to keep Umbrella's smile good, usually by cleaning up, replacing the odd bad tooth (usually by assassination), and filling cavities (or rather, graves).

"You have means to contact them, do you not?"

"Yes, of course. I can send my owl." Noticing Alexia's confused expression (she hadn't learned that much about the magical world from Spencer), Hermione said, "They're messenger birds."

"Excellent. I'll pen a missive for you to send." Inwardly, Alexia smirked. It meant now that she could contact Umbrella. And she could also call for a Dentist. Just in case she needed a hole filled…

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it. It was a thought that occurred to me while working on this that Hermione's parents could work, in one capacity or another, for Umbrella. And while you could justify one dentist working in-house, I actually decided on this whole 'Dentist' thing on a whim.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Sakura Lisel** **: Said fur-clad man is Igor Karkaroff. You know, the guy in charge of Dumrstrang? He's an idiot in canon, anyway.**

 **Kigen No KitsuneOokami** **: No, I have no plans whatsoever to create BOWs of magical creatures. Alexia will be interested in the remains of the Basilisk, but at this moment, she's more interested in testing the limits of both T-Veronica and her grafted magic. She will also be intrigued by magical creatures, and taking samples from them, but she's not going to be spreading viruses willy-nilly. Unlike in** ** _Code Veronica_** **, this Alexia, while still a megalomaniac, is also a more thoughtful, Machiavellian one.**

 **Jostanos** **: See above. Dumbledore keeps an eye on Squibs, particularly those who gain significant power in the Muggle world.**

 **1\. A reference to** ** _Doctor Who: The Two Doctors_** **, where the Second Doctor claims that Dastari, a scientist he is friends with (but currently arguing quite badly), has enough letters after his name for two alphabets.**

 **2\. A utilitarian can be considered, broadly, to be someone who desires the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, this also tends to mean that someone gets it in the shorts.**

 **3\. This is actually the full version of Alexia's song from the game, otherwise known as Berceuse. The middle verse isn't heard in the game.**

 **4\. A reference to the origins of the Progenitor Virus, as discussed in** ** _Resident Evil 5_** **.**


	6. Chapter 4: The Operative

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **THE OPERATIVE**

Emma Granger peered at the letter, her lips pursing in concern. It seemed that she had just been activated, and by one of the most legendary figures in all of Umbrella. There had been claims that Alexia Ashford had died in an accident, but it seemed rumours of her demise had, to use Mark Twain's old cliché, had been greatly exaggerated.

She looked over the letter again, dropped off by owl, though how it managed to get a letter into Umbrella's internal mail system, she had no idea, even after her daughter had completed 3 years at Hogwarts. Instead, she concentrated on the letter proper.

 _AA71 CODE:VER_

 _To whom it may concern,_

 _Forgive me this unsolicited epistle, but I find myself in urgent need of Dental work, discreetly and quietly. Just a check-up, and some protection. Oh, and I would like to talk clearly. I've had some trouble with that. Your attendance is required forthwith. If someone could let my father know that my son and I are at Hogwarts, it would be most helpful._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Lady Alexia Ashford_

Emma focused on the key words after confirming the identification code at the top of the letter. 'Discreetly and quietly' could mean many things. It could mean going undercover, or else doing no wetwork, or doing very discreet wetwork. 'Check-up' and 'protection' confirmed that Alexia merely wanted a bodyguard and someone to assess the situation. 'Talk clearly' meant she needed a communicator of some kind, and knowing what her daughter said about Hogwarts, they probably needed one with EM shielding at least. The rest of the letter was pretty self-explanatory.

Her husband knew a little of what she did. Not much: he thought she was a bodyguard and troubleshooter for Umbrella who happened to be a qualified dentist as well. She had actually been a dentist in the military, which was a matter of public record(1). She was, in fact, one of the rare Dentists who actually held the qualifications of an actual dentist.

Upon receiving it, Emma left her office, and went to a secure communications room. She activated a connection to the Antarctic Base, and asked for Alexander Ashford. She soon got him. " _Yes? What is it?_ " he asked, looking panicked and tired.

"I have news of your daughter, sir."

" _Really? Then tell me, immediately!_ "

"Calm down, sir. She has just sent me a letter from Hogwarts, a school of magic in Scotland. My daughter attends, and Alexia must've found out her parents work for Umbrella. She wants a Dentist."

" _Really? What else did she say?_ "

"Not much, as it was in codephrases. However, she wants protection and an assessment of the situation, as well as a communicator. My daughter, as I said, attends the school, and claims that electrical devices and electronic ones don't work."

" _Magic interferes with electronic devices, but an EMP shield works around them_ ," Alexander said. " _You should have compatible satellite phones in the London office. Go to your quartermaster, and ask for them. Anything else?_ "

"No, sir. I'll head to Hogwarts once I send the reply back."

* * *

They didn't know it, but their conversation had been overheard. Albert Wesker had placed a personal tap on the communications with the Antarctic Base, and he was probably the first top person in Umbrella to know not only of Alexia and her adopted son going missing, but also to learn that she had requested a Dentist to help her.

Not that he reported such things to Spencer. Wesker would prefer to hoard information for his own benefit, and luckily for him, he was at the London branch of Umbrella, with just one boring meeting (which had just finished before his phone rang, and let him overhear the conversation), and then he had a few weeks' holiday. And there was something else. So, being curious, he approached Granger in the Armoury. "Going somewhere?"

"Wesker! My daughter has contacted me. Family emergency, you see."

"A family emergency indeed, but not to your family." Leaning in closer, he said, "I overheard your conversation. I will travel with you to Hogwarts. How do you intend to get there?"

Emma Granger only hesitated briefly. This was, after all, Albert Wesker. One of the men who had the ear of Ozwell E Spencer. To refuse him this was dangerous. "My daughter showed me a way to use a magical form of public transport. Normally you need a wand. But after an incident in her second year, we were given a means. I have some money with me. But why do you want to come, sir?"

"Simple. If Alexia is awake and sane, then it means that one if not more of her projects is a success. In any case, given what that old fool Spencer was going on about, I want to see what this famous school is like…"

There was a little more to it than that. Not that Granger needed to know.

* * *

A little less than an hour later, Wesker was emptying his stomach onto the ground. As the Knight Bus vanished with a bang behind them, he glared at Granger from behind his sunglasses. "You saw _nothing_."

"My lips are sealed, Wesker," Granger said. Only the faintest twinkle in her eyes suggested she derived any humour from that.

Their letter, it seemed, had arrived. They had been left near the front gates to Hogwarts Castle, and a stern-looking woman dressed as a stereotypical witch was striding down towards them. "Dr Granger! Why are you here? Nothing has happened to your daughter, as far as I am aware."

"I'm on a different sort of business, Professor McGonagall," Emma Granger said. "My services were requested by a new arrival to your castle. Lady Alexia Ashford?"

McGonagall pinched her nose, before turning to Wesker. "And you are?"

"Albert Wesker. I'm a close acquaintance of Lady Ashford." Not an actual lie, but stretching the truth a little. "And I am aware of your world. I have no interest in exposing it. Is Alexia and her charge all right?"

McGonagall nodded. "They are well. This way, please."

* * *

Hermione hadn't known what to expect from the Boy Who Lived. She certainly didn't expect someone who could read at a speed she could envy, flicking through pages of a Charms textbook at high speed while sitting at lunch. His mother (well, adopted mother, she supposed), Alexia, was doing the same thing to a Defence Against the Dark Arts text. Eventually, she asked, "How are you reading that?"

"I created a special vector virus that enhances speed, strength, and mental acuity. This was why Henry and I were in stasis. We were not exactly doing it for the entertainment value," Alexia said, not taking her eyes from the tome. She then shut it. "Not bad, a bit dull in the middle(2)."

There were many things running through Hermione's head. Like how it was impossible, how self-experimentation sounded insane, like what sort of research Alexia was up to…but what actually came first and foremost to Hermione's mouth, rather foolishly, was "Can I try it too?"

Alexia's gaze went over to her, and Hermione did her best not to quail under that gaze. She had managed to defeat a bloody _troll_ in her first year, survived a Basilisk's gaze in her second year, and had faced down both Sirius Black and Dementors during her third year. Eventually, Alexia said, "I don't see why not. But it will have to wait. Leaving aside the fact that your education should not be interrupted, the virus requires years of being placed in cryogenic stasis in order to allow the body to adapt. Actually, to tell the truth, it is not strictly stasis, as the body still grows, but there is the danger of significant tissue damage if a form of cryogenic suspension isn't used."

Hermione nodded, but any further questions or comments were interrupted when the doors opened. To her shock, she recognised both figures who were following Professor McGonagall. The woman was her mother, carrying a briefcase. The man, lean, blonde, and wearing sunglasses, was none other than Albert Wesker. She knew him because her parents invited him to dinner a few times while he was in London. He reminded her, uncomfortably, of Draco Malfoy. He wasn't as overtly arrogant as Malfoy, and he was actually quite pleasant and polite. But you got this vibe from him that he would do anything to achieve his goals.

"Ah, so I was correct." Alexia stood, and walked over to Emma Granger and Wesker, Hermione and Henry following. "Albert, what an unexpected pleasure. I assume you are here because you couldn't resist poking your nose into the business of others?"

Wesker's mouth twitched into a smile. "William is still cursing your name. Your projects were successful?"

"Despite the interruptions caused by these fools, yes."

"Mum, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, this isn't the place to discuss this."

"I agree," Professor McGonagall said archly. "I will find a room where you may discuss things in private. I presume this is private business."

"Oh, not so private that you have to leave yet, Professor McGonagall," Alexia purred smoothly. "Please, lead on."

* * *

It was the same room where the other three champions had waited on that night when the champions were chosen, Alexia realised. The briefcase was placed on a table, and opened. "Emma Granger reporting as ordered, Lady Ashford. I brought what you required," Emma Granger said.

Alexia smirked, pulling out a satellite phone and turning it on. "Muggle devices don't work at Hogwarts," McGonagall warned.

"They do if you use some basic EMP shielding," Alexia said. The phone certainly worked, though she would probably have to call outdoors.

"EMP?"

"Electromagnetic pulse," Hermione supplied. "Electronics without shielding are prey to such a thing. A massive EMP can be caused by a nuclear weapon, but magic must cause smaller EMPs."

Emma Granger smiled. "Hermione is an avid reader. Full of questions."

"And I have one for you, Mum: why are you here?" Hermione demanded quietly. "Why did Lady Ashford send for you?"

"A Dentist is a euphemism Umbrella uses for corporate bodyguards and troubleshooters," Alexia said. She wasn't going to disillusion the girl completely. Just make the situation a little less awkward. "I have retained her services for a period."

"And I never lied about being a dentist, Hermione," Emma Granger said. "They have dentists in the military. That's where Umbrella recruited me from. It pays better, frankly."

"Oh." Hermione still seemed disappointed in her mother, but clearly an argument had just been averted.

"I don't think a bodyguard is required here," McGonagall said. "Or at least one shouldn't be required."

"Really?" Alexia asked, raising an eyebrow. "Technically, you are correct in that one _shouldn't_ be required. But my son and I were removed from our repose rather violently by that relic you had. Someone put my son's name into it. I am well aware of his reputation, and the possibility that some follower of Voldemort's may actually be seeking revenge."

"Or the man himself," Hermione muttered.

Alexia looked sharply at Hermione. "Explain."

Hermione winced, before looking at McGonagall for help. The stern teacher then said, "In Hermione's first year, one of our teachers was possessed by a wraith who we believe to be…Voldemort himself." Alexia didn't fail to notice that McGonagall hesitated to say the name. "In second year, it was found out that a diary had something like him within it. Several students, including Miss Granger, were petrified, and only a trio of students managed to destroy the diary, thankfully before any lives were lost."

"Though it was a near-thing with Ginny," Hermione said with a shudder at the memory. "Ron, Neville, and Luna only got there just in time, according to them."

"It is Professor Dumbledore's firm belief that…Voldemort is still alive, albeit reduced to near-impotency. The man was obsessed with immortality at any cost."

 _So am I_ , Alexia thought to herself, _but I don't advertise it as loudly_.

Henry spoke up. "So this might be some convoluted scheme of Voldemort's to get me killed?"

"Possibly."

Henry's sigh echoed along their mental link. _Why is it that megalomaniacs like convoluted schemes and puzzles? Present company excepted, of course, Mother_.

 _Oh, I like puzzles. That's one of the few things I like about Spencer_ , Alexia sent back. Out loud, she said, "I believe that someone needs to investigate how my son's name came out of the Goblet. Granger, I want your opinion of the staff members forthwith, including any that may have a grudge against my son, or else had once followed Voldemort. Given that your daughter has attended, her observations may be useful. And Wesker…" She blinked. Where did he go?

* * *

Wesker was peering at the various tables in the Great Hall, until he finally found the face he was looking for at one of them. Oh, those pale, pointed features, so familiar…it was almost like looking into a mirror.

"You, Muggle," came the nasal, resonant voice of a dark-eyed and greasy-haired teacher with a prominent nose. "Why are you staring so intently at my charges?"

"Sorry, I thought I recognised the child of an old friend. That boy over there…that is Narcissa Malfoy's child, am I correct?"

"…Yes. Why? How do you know her, Muggle?"

"I met her once," Wesker lied. In fact, he had met her several times. "I never knew she was a witch." Which wasn't a lie.

The greasy-haired man seemed to put two and two together rather fast, and he hissed, quietly, "You will stay silent about it. Draco has a high opinion of his father, and a low opinion of Muggles."

"My lips are sealed," Wesker lied smoothly. But even so, he was appraising the boy seated at the table. Draco Malfoy. A boy who could very well be his bastard son.

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, how's that for a revelation? Yep, Draco Malfoy was actually fathered (in this story at least) by Albert Wesker. More on how and why in a later chapter. I only really thought of it while I was writing this chapter.**

 **Review-answering time! I've already answered some in correspondence.** **Kigen No KitsuneOokami** **: We'll reveal (as in the above chapter) what happened in dribs and drabs.**

 **paladin3030** **: See above. Hermione's father is normal, but Emma Granger is a Dentist.**

 **CheshireCat'sWitch** **: Yes. That's what I intended.**

 **1\. It wouldn't surprise me if Umbrella recruited from normal armies. I've encountered many fanfics where Hermione's father was a soldier. I don't know if any have her mother being one.**

 **2\. A reference to a sequence in** ** _Doctor Who: City of Death_** **where the Doctor literally flicks through a novel and tells Romana: "Not bad. A bit dull in the middle."**


	7. Chapter 5: Alexia and Albert

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **ALEXIA AND ALBERT**

"Too many suspects," Emma Granger remarked, tapping a pen thoughtfully on the notepad she had. "And not enough clues. Plus, with the Imperius Curse, well, that adds an extra wrinkle. And there's that Polyjuice Potion stuff my daughter told me about."

"Yes. I daresay that Professor Snape can be excluded from the list," McGonagall said. "Dumbledore holds him in high regard."

Alexia looked at the older woman. "You seem to think otherwise," she observed.

"True, he is heavily biased against my own house, partly due to the actions of Harry's father. But he also owed James Potter a life debt, and that is something we take very seriously, not least of which is that it may cause him to lose his magic, even his life, should he refuse to honour it," McGonagall pointed out. "And as James Potter died without the life debt being repaid, it falls onto his son, now your own."

"Even so, it's this Voldemort, or one of his followers, pulling the strings here, right? Who here used to follow him?" Henry asked.

"Snape, though he apparently worked as a double agent, and Karkaroff. They're both former Death Eaters. Karkaroff is highly unlikely, though, as he betrayed the Death Eaters to save his own skin," McGonagall said.

"And there's the possibility that someone here is using Polyjuice Potion," Emma Granger pointed out again. "The upshot is, the only people who can be reasonably excluded are any students who can't cross the Age Line."

Hermione nodded. "The Weasley twins tried to cross it yesterday after drinking an Aging Potion. They ended up with long beards." She chuckled, despite herself. "They were laughing all the way to the Hospital Wing, though."

"I would concentrate on the older staff and officials," Alexia said. She tched irritably. "And where is Wesker?"

"I'm right here, Alexia," Wesker purred, appearing right next to the young woman. He had just walked in shortly after Hermione had related the anecdote about the Weasley twins.

"Good. Once I am finished speaking with my father, we will discuss the current situation, and how to deal with it." She looked over at the Grangers and Henry, along with McGonagall. "Granger, Professor, I am leaving my son in your care for the moment. I need to contact my father. Ensure that no harm comes to Henry, lest there be consequences." And with that, she left, Wesker in tow.

"What a frightening woman," McGonagall remarked after a brief pause. "She is like a noble of a Pureblood line."

"Technically, we Ashfords are a noble line," Henry said. "So too are the Potters. My mother merely acts as her station demands, even if the Ashford fortunes have fallen a little. She is also a genius. She did, after all, learn how to graft magical ability on herself via genetic engineering."

"An extraordinary feat if true," McGonagall conceded. "But many blood purists hold a viewpoint that Muggleborns steal magic from Purebloods just by being born. A ridiculous conceit, but bolstered in their minds by the fact that many of the more conservative Pureblood families are in danger of becoming inbred, with more Squibs and weaker wizards and witches born to them."

"Idiots," Henry said emphatically. "Still, this Tournament might be interesting. And if someone had entered me with the purpose of doing me harm, then my mother and I will demonstrate one of the unofficial mottos of the Ashford family: _Nemo me impune lacessit._ "

"Nobody harms me with impunity," Hermione translated.

"Exactly," Henry said, smiling a rather unnerving smile. He thought to himself, _Uncle Alfred forgot about that little rule_ …

* * *

As they walked the grounds of Hogwarts, Wesker asked, "What did happen to your brother, anyway?"

"Dear Alfred was becoming envious of the time and attention I spent lavishing on Henry," Alexia said. "In addition, he was growing impatient with me because he wanted to wreak revenge on our father for our creation. Spencer's little meeting with us actually came at the right time, as Project Medea actually distracted me, gave me enough time to distance myself from the matter. It made me realise that, had I been in his place, I would have done the same thing, to try and recreate the glory that was Lady Veronica Ashford. I did forgive him, or at least I was willing to take him off the list of a potential guinea pig for T-Veronica, and I decided to stick to _in vitro_ testing for a time, refining the virus and making it safer. When Henry was eight, an argument went badly, and Alfred decided to kill him, in order to have me all to himself. I therefore found my test subject. Though I had done some _in vitro_ testing that suggested that neural degeneration would result. Once I had confirmed that with Alfred, I decided to modify the virus slightly, as well as go into stasis, along with Harry, until Veronica had safely fused with our cells."

"And is it safely fused?"

"I am almost completely certain in my case, at least. In Henry's, however, I fear he may lack just enough mental discipline. This is only a highly unlikely scenario, especially as Veronica has given us a mental link. If need be, I can take control of him. The neural degeneration at this point will not be irreversible, but I fear a potential berserker state." Alexia turned to Alfred. "Besides curiosity about the success of Veronica, what brought you to Hogwarts?"

Wesker smiled. "In 1979, I came here to train at the Umbrella office in London. I took in some of the sights, including the British Museum. It was there that I met a young woman by the name of Narcissa Malfoy. She had had an argument with her husband, and I was there to comfort her. We had a liaison in my hotel room. More than a few times. Later, after you had adopted Harry, I heard Spencer complaining about someone by the name of Malfoy. When I asked him, he told me that Lucius Malfoy was the scion of one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain. He confirmed that Narcissa was Lucius Malfoy's wife, and Spencer was most amused that I had had an affair with her. As it happens, Narcissa's son attends Hogwarts. Whether he is mine or Lucius', I do not know, but he is certainly about the right age. What's more, he is apparently besotted with the same blood purity creeds his father has, and I find it amusing that, if he is my bastard child, he is actually not as pure as he thought."

Alexia actually laughed. "Oh, how wonderfully droll, Albert. These inbred imbeciles and their petty notions of blood purity do require some shaking up, at the very least. Apropos of nothing, how is dear William and his virus with the utterly portentous and pretentious name coming along?"

Wesker shot her a look, wondering how she knew, given that she had been in stasis during the main development period of the G-Virus. "Very well, though he is still ironing out the bugs. Perhaps I can persuade him to send you some details."

"Perhaps. I think we are far enough from the castle to have me call Father," Alexia said, before tapping a long number into the satellite phone. Soon, the phone rang, and it was directed to the comms room at the Antarctic Base.

Then, her father's voice. " _Alexia? Is that you?_ "

"Indeed, Father. Both of us are alive and well. I will fill you in on the situation." Which Alexia did, telling him about the Goblet of Fire and the Tri-Wizard Tournament, as well as Wesker accompanying Emma Granger here, though she kept quiet about Wesker's possible bastard child.

After Alexia had finished, Alexander Ashford asked, " _What now?_ "

"I will try and make arrangements to ferry back and forth between Hogwarts and…let's say Rockfort Island. I am finding Antarctica tedious now, and the facilities I need are available at Rockfort Island. I would not be surprised if these people had some sort of instantaneous transportation. I will have to see whether Henry can be taken off Hogwarts grounds in the interim between the Tasks, though I may allow him to attend lessons. Even so, if the person who put his name into the Goblet of Fire did so in order to kill him, then they may try a more direct approach."

" _So, you don't want anything special shipped from Antarctica or Rockfort?_ "

"No BOWs, if that's what you mean, not unless Umbrella has managed to train Hunters into bodyguards, which I doubt. A few personal items would be nice, the ones I would take whenever abroad. I would also like a few firearms for myself and Harry, just in case, and a couple of tasers. These idiots seem to underestimate Muggles."

"… _What about Spencer?_ "

"If he wants to know, give him the bare minimum of facts. Also, warn him that we need to be sure there won't be complications with Project Medea considering his advanced age." It wasn't truly a lie, but it was not that strong an excuse, and Spencer would know it. "Tell him that I will get back to working on it when I regain access to my facilities on Rockfort Island. However, Henry is leashed to this Tournament, so I must try and stay with him when possible. Is that everything?"

" _Yes. But…it's good to know that you're all right, Alexia. I have already lost one child. I do not intend to lose another. Goodbye._ "

Alexia found herself more affected by her father's sentiment than she thought, even as she returned his farewell, and hung up the phone. Wesker peered at her curiously, before asking, "You're not granting the fruits of your labours to Spencer immediately?"

"Why?" Alexia purred dangerously. "Do you have any objections?"

"No," Wesker admitted, rather candidly. "Spencer's actions, of late, show that the man is becoming increasingly and dangerously paranoid. Already, he is accusing Birkin and I of withholding valuable research, when in truth, we are trying to make sure. The only one he seems to trust at all anymore is that Russian relic Sergei Vladimir. I transferred into the Intelligence Division some time ago, as Spencer's decisions regarding his research personnel are becoming increasingly questionable."

"Albert, Umbrella is like a zoo filled with Brobdingnagian(1) egos. And Spencer's is the largest ego of them all. He fears what will happen if someone decided to take his place at the top of the tree. Doctor Marcus' death was a perfect example."

"I see. Are you proposing an alliance?"

"No." Unspoken, clearly, were the words _Not yet_. "Do you intend to stay at Hogwarts for long, Albert?"

"No. I've satisfied my curiosity, and I will head back to London before long."

"Very well. But is there any possibility of my gaining access to any of Marcus' old labs, as well as the Trevor woman?"

"I doubt that Spencer will let you near either," Wesker said. "Lisa Trevor is key to the development of the G-Virus, though some of the researchers are calling for her destruction. She has become violent and uncontrollable. As for Marcus' old labs, Spencer only has a skeleton staff there. Few are let anywhere near there. Even Birkin has to sign a small mountain of paperwork before he can go there."

Alexia chuckled at that thought. "How is his family, by the way?"

"Annette is a workaholic as always, like her husband, while their daughter, Sherry, is by all accounts a fine young girl. A bit neglected, but certainly loved. Much like Harry…I mean, Henry is under your care. I must confess that I'm surprised that you infected him with T-Veronica, Alexia. I didn't think you would share power."

Alexia looked over at Albert. "I trust my son more than anyone else in the world. He may not be my son by blood, save for the magic-user genes I took from him and grafted onto myself, but he is my son and heir in fact. And there are many kinds of power, Albert, as you and I well know. Henry is my trusted heir, and he will be at my side in the times to come."

* * *

Henry was acutely aware of the staring as he walked back into the Great Hall. He knew who he was to Magical Britain: Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, some sort of messianic figure due to him surviving an instant death curse. Something that his biological mother was probably responsible for. If the book he had read this morning was any indication, Magical Britain clearly was a credulous bunch. A massive herd of sheep, grazing on the grass, not realising that they were potentially one step away from the abattoir.

Not that he would do such a thing. While he shared his mother's ambitions to rule the world from the shadows, he also remembered what she taught him of Machiavelli. Machiavelli had said it was better to be feared than loved, but only if it was impossible to do both. He would prefer to rule with love, though, to ensure the human race reached its full potential. Of course, a loved ruler was also less likely to inspire revolt than a feared one, he felt.

He wondered what they would think of his designs and ambitions, quite large ones for a 14 year old? Doubtlessly, they'd think he was evil. He liked to think of himself as a visionary. It wasn't like life was going to truly change that much for the world at large, anyway. The transition to the new world would be a gentle one.

He wondered, looking at Hermione, who had already expressed interest in T-Veronica and its abilities, whether he might already have a potential consort. She was certainly intelligent enough to meet Alexia's standards. And despite the prominent teeth and bushy hair, she was also quite attractive.

Inwardly, he smiled. Of course, it was very much early days to be considering such things, and being in stasis with his mother had taught him patience. The world could wait. Even so, he did intend to make sure that Magical Britain stood in awe of his power. And should Voldemort and his lackeys interfere…well, he would sing them a dirge in the key of Veronica!

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Sorry about the long wait for the latest chapter. Inspiration was lacking a little. Even so, I hope you enjoyed this. The little bit looking into Henry's psyche was an addition of my own, as we haven't really looked that much into his viewpoint, just Alexia's. He's not going to be dark, more of a shade of grey. He's more of a megalomaniac with the best of intentions. He and Alexia basically intend to rule the world from the shadows with a velvet glove, and change it slowly. The nearest I can come to this is maybe Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias from** ** _Watchmen_** **, only with less violence. He'll also probably be the first 'dark' (or at least remotely villainous) Harry I have written.**

 **1\. This word was damned hard to get right. It basically means enormous. It comes from** ** _Gulliver's Travels_** **by Jonathan Swift.**


	8. Chapter 6: Media Relations

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **MEDIA RELATIONS**

Some days later, Alexia was going through her possessions at Rockfort Island. Dumbledore had graciously given her a Portkey that could ferry her to and fro from Rockfort, as he was able to use a photo of the island and the rough coordinates to give her a reliable Portkey. Henry had come back, briefly, to hug his grandfather, but had opted to attend a number of lessons at Hogwarts in the interim. He took to learning magic and its subjects quickly.

Of course, the Hogwarts curriculum left a lot to be desired. History was a joke, maths, in the form of Arithmancy, was optional, and for any Muggleborn student, they needed to keep up some sort of correspondence schooling if they had a chance of getting any work in normal society after Hogwarts. After all, Muggleborns were second class citizens in Magical Britain, and many other magical societies around the world, even if this fact was rarely acknowledged.

Of course, Henry was educated to a postgraduate university level, thanks to Alexia's tutoring during their time in stasis. While not her equal in genius, he nonetheless had a respectable level of intelligence. The Granger girl had that potential, Alexia felt. And she had expressed interest in Veronica. Perhaps a possible consort for Henry? Intelligent and attractive…but how would she feel about Umbrella's other pursuits?

Her father entered the room, rapping on the door as a nicety. "Are you all right, Alexia?"

"I am fine, Father. Just…feeling some sentiment." Alexia pursed her lips as she found her private film reel, of the time she and her brother plucked the wings off a dragonfly, and fed it alive to an ant's nest. At the time, she had felt a strange enjoyment in the act. Now, she felt disquiet. Not guilt per se, but the fact was that she found dragonflies to be quite elegant and fascinating creatures now. And then, there was the fact that her brother, at least after she adopted Henry, was not a happy memory.

She placed the film reel back in the cupboard. "How did William take my request?"

"Surprisingly well. I believe his words were, ' _You want the bitch? You can have her!_ ' She'll arrive in a couple of days. Alexia, why did you want her of all… _people_ sent here?"

"My son is considered the Boy Who Lived because he survived an instant death curse, apparently doing the impossible. It was in all likelihood his mother who used a ritual of some kind, but even so, it must've been untested. This woman has survived the odds herself. Have the laboratories been suitably reinforced?"

"They can withstand a Tyrant, if need be," Alexander Ashford said. "They can withstand multiple Tyrants. The French are getting a little territorial, though."

"They would. They have a very proprietorial attitude to their research. Then again, so does William. And, as a matter of fact, so do I. That is something Spencer fails to understand. He is probably wondering why I have had this woman shipped here, scrabbling around to think of a reason why."

"And why are you doing this?"

"Ever since I was taken out of stasis, my mind has been racing to improve Veronica. I believe that, while temporary stasis is still needed to stabilise the infection, I can reduce the timeframe to a matter of days rather than years. In addition, William's work on the G-Virus got me thinking. If I can combine the G-Virus' regenerative abilities with Veronica…" Alexia smiled. "I believe William has a short memory. He has handed me a very valuable specimen on a platter. Then again, as that rather vulgar saying goes, one's trash may be another's treasure." She then returned to her possessions. "I will have to head back to Hogwarts before long. Tomorrow will be a ceremony known as the Weighing of the Wands, and Dumbledore warned me that a representative of the press will be there. He's almost certain that it will be a rather appalling witch equivalent of a paparazzo known as Rita Skeeter."

"How is Henry taking to his wand?"

"Very well, though that old wandmaker made a rather ominous remark. He said that the wand was the twin of Voldemort's, though the core, a Phoenix tail feather, came from Dumbledore's Phoenix. But the wand suits him well, though he has found wandless magic surprisingly easy. I have also been talking to some of the teachers there. Dumbledore asked me to provide sanctuary for one Sirius Black."

"Who?"

"Henry's godfather," Alexia said. "The fool was framed and sent to the wizarding prison of Azkaban, and on rather shoddy evidence. The public of Magical Britain thought that he betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, and murdered one of his friends, along with a dozen other people. The truth was, it was said friend, one Peter Pettigrew, who was guilty of said crimes, and framed him. That is what Dumbledore told me. He had been blinded by anger at what he thought to be a betrayal by Black, he never looked at the evidence objectively. Black escaped Azkaban last year when he saw Pettigrew in disguise. You see, Black and Pettigrew, along with Henry's biological father, were Animagi. That meant they could transform themselves into animals."

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Which ones?"

"I know nothing about James Potter, but apparently Black can turn into a massive black dog resembling a Grim, a portent of death in Magical Britain. And given his betrayal of the Potters, it is far from surprising that Pettigrew masqueraded as a pet rat for several years. The family he was with did not notice, oddly enough, though according to Dumbledore, some magical pets are longer lived than their mundane counterparts. In addition, they had another friend who is seeking to come here with Black: one Remus Lupin."

"Is he an Animagus too?"

"No, but I daresay that if the higher-ups learned of him, they would be drooling at a chance to study him. Which is why I intend to do so first. He's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Alexander asked incredulously.

"Yes. I even told Dumbledore that I would study Lupin and his condition so that I could potentially effect a cure, or at the very least a better treatment. It appears to be viral in nature, though it's only infectious during the full moon." Alexia frowned as she remembered something. "Father…your father, Doctor Edward Ashford, worked with Spencer and Marcus on the Progenitor Virus. Did he notice anything…odd about it?"

"Many things that were odd, Alexia. Why do you ask?" Alexander asked.

"One of the students at Hogwarts, a Luna Lovegood, made a remark about it. She knew about the _Sonnentreppe_ plant in Kijuju. Apparently her father, along with herself, are cryptozoologists of the wizarding world. She has the disposition of a scatter-brained lunatic, but I can tell she knows more than she's letting on. And along with the Granger girl, she was Sorted into Ravenclaw, presumably for her intelligence." Alexia pursed her lips. "I think we may have potential new recruits, especially with Hermione's links to Umbrella. In any case, I had best be going. Henry will need to front the press tomorrow, and I will be chaperoning him…"

* * *

The question was, how to deal with Rita? She was going to doubtless try to find out a lot about Alexia. Alexia wondered how she was going to handle the issue of her gaining magic late in life. Should she expose Project Medea? Spencer would doubtless be watching the media of Magical Britain like a hawk by now. If she exposed Project Medea, he might retaliate.

But then again, that would leave him open to counterattack. Her father and Wesker had certainly said that Spencer was no longer at all loved in the company he helped found (and if he had his way, history would say he alone founded it). She could assume the throne of Umbrella before long.

After a moment's consideration, she decided to lie. She had consulted with that greasy-haired man Snape on a plausible cover story. Snape seemed to dislike her son initially (Dumbledore supplied a couple of reasons why), but seemed willing to cooperate. He seemed to recognise a fellow Slytherin, as well as someone who was much higher up the food chain.

Which was why she was with Henry, her hand on his shoulder, as the Weighing of the Wands took place in a small classroom. She wasn't sure who she hated more: that gurning grinning brain-damaged imbecile Bagman, or the acidly-smiling and garishly-dressed Rita Skeeter. Rita had tried to get a word with Henry in private, until Alexia fixed her with a look, and an unnerving, regal smile, and told her to wait until after the ceremony…and under Alexia's supervision.

She brought Henry over to where Fleur and Cedric were speaking. "…horrible woman," Fleur muttered. " _The Daily Prophet_ is even worse than most of the tabloids back home."

"Yeah. I mean, sometimes it's good, but the Ministry controls it," Cedric said. He looked up, and saw Henry and Alexia. "Harry, good to see you here."

"Thank you. I prefer Henry, but I won't object to Harry. Almost everyone here calls me Harry," Henry said. "Why have they got this Bagman person in charge of this Tournament?"

"He's the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," Cedric said. "And he's in charge with Mr Crouch, who's the Head of the Department of International Cooperation."

"Crouch seemed more competent than he was," Alexia observed, "if somewhat quicker to anger."

Fleur snorted quietly. "My father used to work in the Magical French Embassy during Voldemort's war." As Cedric flinched, Fleur rolled her eyes. "The Taboo spell is not in place anymore, Cedric. Unless he comes back from the grave, you will not have to fear that _monstre_ anymore. In any case, Monsieur Crouch, who was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, acted like Fouquier-Tinville during that time."

"Sorry?" Cedric asked.

"She means the infamous 'Purveyor to the Guillotine', Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville, a lethally zealous prosecutor during the Reign of Terror(1)," Alexia said.

Fleur nodded. "They were dark times for both sides. Monsieur Crouch authorised the Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses. There are rumours that a couple of accused Death Eaters ended up in Azkaban without trial. And when his own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters, Crouch prosecuted him ruthlessly."

"A dark chapter in our history," Dumbledore said, having entered the room, along with the other Headmasters of the schools present. Another man, an ancient one with large, pale eyes, came through. Alexia recognised him as Ollivander, the wandmaker whom Henry had gotten his wand from. The purpose of this ceremony, Alexia gathered, was to ensure the wands were of the best quality, and Ollivander was to examine and test each wand.

Fleur went first, her wand turning out to have a Veela hair, her grandmother's, at its core. Cedric went next, Ollivander recognising it as his own handiwork, musing on the unicorn he took the unicorn tail-hair from, which had nearly gored him. Alexia nearly snorted at Cedric's unwitting joke that he polished his wand regularly. Seriously, a boy that old didn't know that was innuendo?

Krum went next. His wand turned out to be the work of Gregorovitch, a rival wandmaker to Ollivander, with the core of a dragon heartstring. And finally, Henry's wand, which was inspected, and then tested. Then, Bagman demanded photos, and then afterwards, Rita wanted that interview.

Having been briefed by Dumbledore about Quick-Quotes quills, Alexia made it very clear to Rita that using one was not on. Rita gave a rather thin smile, and took out another quill. "Now, first question," Rita said. "Where have you been all this time, Harry?"

"Living with my mother. My adoptive mother, yes, but Lady Alexia Ashford is the only mother I have known."

"Do you feel sad that you have never met your true parents?"

"Of course. But they died before I truly knew them," Henry said. "My mother has cared for me from a young age."

"And is it true that you didn't put your name into the Goblet of Fire?"

"It is true. Both my mother and I were in cryogenic stasis at the time, and had been for years." On Rita's confused look, Henry said, "A special kind of sleep that we used to make sure a special experiment we were running was safe. It's a Muggle technology."

"And yet, according to sources, Lady Ashford has demonstrated magical ability," Rita said. "I have done my research into Lady Ashford and Umbrella, and have found that the Ashfords are not even Squibs. How does she have magical ability?"

"It is a rather complicated story," Alexia interjected, irritated about Rita speaking of her as if she wasn't there. "The abridged version is that I wished to use an adoption potion, but the instructions I had obtained were garbled, and I had imbibed the potion myself. Instead of Henry gaining my characteristics, I gained his magic, much to my surprise."

The interview went on for a little while, and Alexia was sure that Rita had enough to do her article, though she clearly was frustrated that she couldn't get more. But Alexia felt it a satisfactory-enough mix of truth, half-truths, and lies for _The Daily Prophet_. What was more, it meant avoiding the attention of Spencer for now, along with the less-salubrious elements of Magical Britain, who'd be clamouring at her for stealing magic. At least now it was made out to be an accident rather than something on purpose…

* * *

For the night, Henry and Alexia opted to head back to Rockfort, partly because Henry wanted a meal there, and to see his grandfather, and partly because Alexia was awaiting something. A special delivery.

After dinner, they went to the laboratory, and watched as a massive stasis tank was wheeled in, and soon connected to the lab's electricity supply, as well as disconnected from the battery that had sustained the tank, and its occupant, during the flight from Raccoon City.

Henry gaped, despite himself. The form in the tank was not as bulky as a Tyrant, which he had seen pictures of. It was more tall and lanky, if it was upright. Instead, the form was curled in a foetal position, the malformed skull of the creature relaxed in whatever passed for repose for the tormented thing. The body was, roughly, human, but Henry saw a massive eyeball on the back of the creature, like a tumour, and tendrils waved lazily, protruding from rents in the creature's flesh.

"Mother…is that who I think it is?" Henry asked, walking forward and putting his hand gently on the glass.

"Indeed it is," Alexia said. "Birkin was all too happy to get rid of her. He does not realise it, but he has given me a most excellent test-subject for the next stage of Veronica. This woman, after all, has survived everything Umbrella has pumped into her veins. The Tyrant Virus, the Nemesis Parasite… She may yet be the crucible for the virus that will be the next stage of our plans. She was for the God Virus Birkin is working on. But I intend to create something better than the T or G-Viruses. I intend to create something that surpasses them and Veronica." She walked forward, and placed her hand gently on the glass. "Look upon the woman who will be the crucible for the future, my son. Look upon Lisa Trevor."

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it. Sorry for the wait for this chapter. Hope it was worth the wait. Hopefully, more chapters will come swiftly.**

 **Now, regarding Lisa Trevor, well, back when this was originally** ** _Henry Ashford and the Philosopher's Stone_** **, I had always intended to bring Lisa Trevor in, and have her changed by Alexia's experiments. She'll be a key character in this story, becoming an intelligent Tyrant-like being. You'll see.**

 **I am also aware that Veronica and the G-Virus have been combined to create the C-Virus, the one responsible for the events of** ** _Resident Evil 6_** **. This will be a new take on the C-Virus, the virus Alexia is planning.**

 **Review-answering time! Thanks for the praise in doing a darker Harry. I haven't really done a darker Harry before. He's not quite villainous, more dark than evil, and willing to do some nasty things to get his way, but he's also pragmatic and willing to work behind the scenes.**

 **Mangahero18** **: I don't have an English degree, just a couple of health science degrees, and experience writing (unpublished) non-fanfics.**

 **Navn Ukjent** **: Buggered if I know, but maybe they weren't complete clones of Veronica. Maybe Alexander put his DNA into the mix.**

 **Lu Bane Na** **: I use the pairings for romantic pairings only. Yes, Harry and Alexia are very close, but I'm not pairing them in the summary in case people think this is an incest fic. Their relationship is weird, but not incestuous by any means.**

 **1\. I needed to find the French equivalent of a hanging judge, and found this man after a search through Wikipedia.**


	9. Chapter 7: Sentinel

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **SENTINEL**

Alexia watched the malformed body of Lisa Trevor with some pity, and more anticipation. Veronica was singing to her, telling her how she could do this. Through Veronica, she could shape the twisted lump of meat floating in the stasis tank until Lisa Trevor had become something pleasing to the eye. Or perhaps it was Veronica and the magic granted by Medea that could do so. Yes, that was it.

She once remembered William Birkin sneering at her for being obsessed with ants, calling them vile scavengers. She had fixed him with a look, and had told him that while they were scavengers, they also transformed what wasn't wanted into the beauty of an ant's nest, a complex structure, a city, built from nature's leftovers. A gross oversimplification, but it was worth it to see Birkin's reaction to being verbally slapped in the face. And considering she was still a child at the time, it was also highly amusing, especially to the others present, including Wesker.

It was what she was doing now, turning Lisa Trevor, already considered too dangerous to be of any use to Umbrella anymore, from a twisted lump of meat, into something beautiful. And as she said to Henry, Trevor could be the crucible for the ultimate virus. Not a disease, not a weapon, but a tool to begin bringing humanity to the next level of evolution.

Henry was still at Hogwarts, under the protection of Emma Granger. She would be sent regular reports during the week or so she was going to spend here at Rockfort Island. Supposedly, Dumbledore intended to send Sirius Black and Remus Lupin over during that time. They would have to meet Henry during one of Henry's visits to Rockfort.

Alexia pressed the button that would begin feeding the new strain of Veronica into the tank. _Soon, Lisa_ , she thought, _you will have a new body, befitting your new role as my soldier. It is not right that you are so hideous. You will be nothing like those crude Tyrants, or the Nemesis that the French are developing._ _ **You**_ _should be called Nemesis. After all, Nemesis was a_ _ **goddess**_ _, one of divine retribution. Perhaps one day, I will let you have your revenge on William, and on Spencer. The irony of it, the daughter of the man whom he murdered all to keep the secrets of the Spencer Mansion safe, killing Spencer. Would you like that, Lisa?_

As if in reply, one of Lisa's malformed hands twitched and spasmed, briefly forming a fist. And Alexia smiled.

* * *

Henry was peering at the Potions textbook and frowning. It was the evening, and he was having a private remedial Potions lesson with Professor Snape. Once the embittered man saw that Henry was an incisively intelligent boy, he began to test him in a way that suggested that, although initially he wanted Henry to fail and fail miserably, an increasing, albeit grudging, respect was growing.

Even so, he scowled as he revised one particular potion. "Professor Snape, these potions violate most of what I know to be true about chemistry, especially organic chemistry. I have to wonder whether magic is introduced into the process or not."

"In many cases, that is indeed the case, Ashford," Snape said. "The cauldrons and ingredients themselves are infused with magic. The different metals have different properties for retaining enchantments."

"It still seems sloppy from a scientific viewpoint. I mean, this text does not even have a reaction table, and yet, it discusses various recipes that, if there are even minor variances, there are major disasters! Even one of the simplest potions recipes, a boil cure, can be dangerous if the porcupine quills are added while the cauldron is still being heated! Whoever wrote this textbook is an imbecile!"

Snape, despite himself, chuckled. "Sadly, Arsenius Jigger's text is the best of a bad lot for the level Hogwarts teaches at. I have been writing my own text in my spare time, what little there is of it. Between teaching and my own experiments in Potions…"

"A shame. It would doubtlessly be a damn sight better than this excremental tome," Henry sneered. He then ran a hand through his hair. "My apologies, Professor. I inherited from my mother a hatred of sloppiness, especially when it comes to what should be a science. In genetic engineering and virology, sloppiness may spell disaster, even more so than in your subject, with all due respect."

"I can imagine, Ashford, but with potions…I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory…even put a stopper in death," Snape said.

"I admit, many of the higher-level potions look interesting. Liquid Luck, the Draught of Living Death, Veritaserum, Amortentia…but many of the other ones are basically magical versions of mundane pharmaceuticals," Henry said. "And I mean no offence, Professor, but I would prefer to use pharmaceuticals that have been tested under laboratory conditions and subject to rigorous review than many of these."

"You'll forgive me if I take more than a little offence, Ashford. I am well aware of Muggle pharmaceuticals and their effects. I have even made comparisons of various potions and their Muggle equivalents. Many potions are far superior to these pharmaceuticals, in that they act fast and do more. However, I will admit that some potions are inadequate compared to some Muggle medicines."

Henry nodded. "Please do not misunderstand me, this is a fascinating subject. It is also a highly frustrating one."

"Your mother used to say the same thing. Your birth mother, Lily Evans," Snape said. "Like you, she had a keen intellect. How she got Sorted into Gryffindor is beyond me."

"Professor McGonagall said that you knew both of my parents," Henry said. "She mentioned that you knew my father first, and then said that you had once been friends with my mother."

"Indeed. I have nothing to say about your father, unless you wish to hear an endless stream of invective. But your mother…I regret her death. We were once friends, but an…incident drove us apart," Snape admitted. "You have her eyes, you know. You may have been adopted by Lady Ashford, but you have Lily Evans' eyes."

"Genes aren't all that define us, Professor. Many other things do," Henry said. "I may not be my mother's child by blood, but by word and deed I am. I may be the Boy Who Lived, but that is through something my birth parents may have done, and it is fame I do not deserve. I intend to surpass that spurious myth that had sprung up around me."

Sadly, it looked like significant work still needed to be done, when _The Daily Prophet_ with his interview arrived not long ago. Despite Rita not being allowed to use the Quick Quotes quill, it was still a rather biased article, much of it devoted to asking rather pointed questions about Alexia Ashford and the Umbrella Corporation. Still, it could have been worse. At least it was baseless speculation rather than baseless claims.

He had to wonder how his mother was doing with Lisa. Dumbledore had told him that his godfather and his honorary uncle were being sent to Alexia later this week. He wondered how they'd get on…

* * *

It was like composing and playing a symphony, Alexia reflected, that sort of delicate work required to create a truly beautiful, epic whole. Difficult, yes, but rewarding when it pulled off. To her astonishment, she was able to not only direct the infection of Veronica as it coursed through Lisa's body, but also reshape her body, repairing the damage caused by years of experiments and viral infection. Her once misshapen body was now a thing of beauty, not as beautiful as Alexia, but even so, it was beautiful.

Where Lisa was once a malformed, hunched-over scarecrow with a mangled head and a tumour-like eyeball on her back, she was now a tall, athletic-looking woman, about two metres tall. Just shorter than Sergei Vladimir, and certainly shorter by over a foot than the Tyrants based on Vladimir. But she would be imposing to anyone. Her face was attractive, framed by a short mop of blonde hair. Her musculature was more athletic than the musclebound physique of Vladimir and the Tyrants(1). She slept serenely in the oxygenated fluid of the stasis tank.

What was more, Alexia's hunch that Lisa's body would act as the crucible for a new virus had proved true. Already, a new promising fusion had occurred between the various viruses within Lisa. She would have to wait for the analysis to be completed before she attempted to test it, but she had already decided on a new name.

Umbrella nomenclature had been somewhat pretentious at least, and at worst, megalomaniacal, when it came to naming viruses. Tyrant Virus, God Virus…at least Alexia had named her variant of the T-Virus after her ancestor and genetic donor, Veronica. But now, she felt, this virus needed a name, this potential new virus. One that would denote her new intentions for the world, to safeguard the future of humanity, to help it evolve.

A guardian for humanity's potential, a shepherd for it. Then, her eyes narrowed as she thought of the perfect name. One that would also be perfect for Lisa Trevor, the prototype for the new version of the Tyrant.

Except she wouldn't be a Tyrant, and Alexia's tyranny would be behind the scenes, a tyranny of compassion. Lisa Trevor was to be a guardian, a shepherd, a _Sentinel_.

Yes. The Sentinel Virus. _The S-Virus_.

Suddenly, she heard a whisper in her mind. She smiled, realising that Lisa's mind had acclimatised to Veronica, and even now was reaching out with a mental link. _Mother? Where is mother?_

 _Ssshhh_ , Alexia sent back. _I'm sorry, but your mother isn't here_.

After a moment, she heard, _Who are you? Where am I? It's so cold…am I being experimented upon again?_

Alexia raised an eyebrow at that. Had Lisa, despite her degenerating mind, been aware of what was happening to her on some level? _In a manner. Do you remember your name?_

 _Lisa. Lisa Trevor._

 _I am Alexia Ashford. It may please you to know that you are no longer at that accursed mansion Spencer had your father build. Indeed, you do not have to go back there ever again._

 _You're lying, like they all do. Where's my mother? Where is she?!_

 _My apologies, but your mother died nearly three decades ago, Lisa_.

A burst of anger down the mental link. _LIAR! LIAR! WE WERE GOING TO ESCAPE! WE WERE GOING TO ESCAPE TOGETHER! I TOOK THE FACES OFF THE LIARS! YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!_

 _I wasn't even born at the time_ , Alexia replied dryly, sending a calming sensation back down the link. _And I would suggest that you calm yourself. Currently, your body is under heavy sedation. It is only now that your mind is speaking to me through Veronica._

 _Veronica? What the hell is that?_ Lisa demanded.

 _Another virus to add to the rather large collection you already have in your body. But I was able to direct the infection, and the tissue growth, so that your body is no longer a twisted monstrosity. And you are feeling more lucid now, are you not? Your mind is no longer that of the child you once was, or the deranged creature you were. How long has it been since you could think so clearly?_

After a moment, Lisa admitted, _Too long. I could…think sometimes. But…I couldn't get my thoughts in order. I can remember what they spoke of when they thought I couldn't understand them. Did you do this to me?_

 _I gave you the gift of lucid thought once more_ , Alexia said. _And more than that, Lisa. You remember who is responsible for you becoming that monster before, do you not?_

 ** _Spencer_**. The two-syllable name was all but spat out by Lisa Trevor over the mental link. _He imprisoned me, my father, my mother, subjected us to those experiments._

 _Indeed. I think I will help you get revenge. Not yet, not for a while, but when the time is right…I will allow you to kill Spencer._

 _Why do you want me to? You're from Umbrella too, aren't you?_

 _Of course. I desire power, if that is what you are attempting to have me admit. But under my regime, I will make sure that nobody suffers like you did ever again. Well, save for the deserving. They shall be my test subjects. You shall be my enforcer. My Sentinel. You will get to have a life outside that dreary, pain-filled existence you had at the Spencer Mansion. You have a new, beautiful body. Here, let me show you_. Alexia gently guided Lisa's mind, letting her see her new body through Alexia's eyes. _See that, Lisa? That is not the body of a monster, but the body of a goddess. You have grown beyond human now, as have my son and I. We're the first of humanity's next stage of evolution. But not just humanity. Umbrella will have to evolve, or die. Soon, I will release you from your womb, Lisa. Soon._

 _Yes…soon…_ Lisa whispered from within the stasis tank. And her lips twitched briefly into an anticipatory smile, one shared by Alexia…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Sorry about the emphasis on Alexia and Lisa this chapter. Then again, much of this story is Alexia-centric rather than Harry-centric. Don't worry, we'll be coming up to the lead-up to the First Task soon, though next chapter, we'll be having Remus, Sirius, Alexia, and Lisa.**

 **Please note that, while Lisa hasn't actually been completely won over by Alexia, she's at least going to take a wait and see approach. And she's also going to have a simple mentality, but not a stupid one. In other words, she'll take the direct approach, but she's still intelligent. Think like, say, Captain Carrot from the Discworld novels.**

 **Also, in case you're wondering why Snape is so buddy-buddy with Harry (compared with canon, anyway), it's because of a few things. Snape has recognised in Alexia and Harry a pair of Slytherin potentials, albeit ones who have 'hidden' in Ravenclaw. In addition, while they both have haughty attitudes, Harry shows respect to the teachers, and has made an effort to be diplomatic to Snape behind the scenes. And because Harry impressed Snape with some actual intelligent questions about Potions, they've got a more cordial relationship. Not actually friends, but rather, people with a shared contempt towards idiots and idiocy. Plus, Snape is also fascinated by the concept of grafting magic onto non-magicals, despite his blood-purity leanings. I've often thought of Snape as the sort of person who would be fascinated by interesting research, magical or Muggle.**

 **1\. I wondered how Lisa Trevor would look if, instead of being the grotesque monster she was in the game, she was turned into a proper BOW. I thought of something between Alexia's first form, and a Tyrant. However, I decided she needed to look human most of the time, and I found some inspiration in what I thought she should look like in Gwendoline Christie, best known lately for playing Brienne of Tarth in** ** _Game of Thrones_** **. I thought of her as being tall and imposing, but not actually musclebound (like the Tyrants) or unattractive. Given that Lisa Trevor would be very tall if she wasn't hunched over all the time, I thought it appropriate.**


	10. Chapter 8: Cheating and Chats

**CHAPTER 8:**

 **CHEATING AND CHATS**

During his first couple of weeks at Hogwarts, prior to the First Task, Henry made a couple of friends. Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood were a couple of them, of course. A few approached him later, many of them Weasleys from Gryffindor. They seemed a bit wary of him, as they suspected his mother to be a Dark Witch, save for the twins, Fred and George, who were somewhat vulgar but nonetheless amusing pranksters. Henry accepted the twins' friendship without reservation, but opted to take a wait-and-see approach with Ron and Ginny, who seemed to want to meet the Boy Who Lived and become friends with him. Ron seemed turned off a little by Henry's deportment, but when Henry expressed a small interest in learning about Quidditch, it helped provide the bridge needed for a cordial relationship. With Ginny, it was just curiosity about his life, and the remnants of a crush.

There was Draco Malfoy of Slytherin and his circle of cronies. Henry found him amusing, like a mini-Wesker, only with less charm and intelligence. Malfoy had offered the hand of friendship, though he had also said Henry didn't want to go around making friends with the wrong sort of wizard. He had looked pointedly at Hermione and Luna at the time. Henry had responded, very politely, that he would make such judgements for himself. While Henry didn't actually refuse, Draco had taken his polite rebuff rather badly, believing it to be a refusal, and many of the Slytherins were giving him dirty looks. Henry bore it all with deportment and detachment. And the occasional acid smile. Even Snape was impressed by that smile.

Another he had some friendship with was another Gryffindor, like the Weasleys. Neville Longbottom was timid and lacked self-esteem, but Ginny looked upon him as a saviour, thanks to events in her first year at Hogwarts. Upon learning that Neville was interested in magical plants, they had discussions about various plants.

He got along well with the staff, for the most part. He actually liked Flitwick most of all, the jovial Charms Master and Head of Ravenclaw having a vast intellect, in inverse proportion to his diminutive body. Snape and McGonagall were no intellectual slouches either, and he respected that, especially when McGonagall related anecdotes to him about his parents, something Snape was loath to do. Mad-Eye Moody was somewhat off-putting, and it wasn't just the fact that he looked like Frankenstein's monster: Veronica was whispering to him, to be wary of him. He was an excellent teacher, though, in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Dumbledore, he couldn't quite make out. True, the man was definitely a leader, and was intelligent behind his façade of part-senile eccentricity. But Henry was sure the man had a plan for him. There were odd moments, too. Like that time Dumbledore cast a spell on him, supposedly discreetly, but Henry caught it out of the corner of his eye. Dumbledore, surprisingly, expressed relief, though Henry got the feeling it wasn't because Henry had caught him, but rather, because of something the spell had detected. Or perhaps failed to detect(1). He'd also given Henry, albeit discreetly, a cloak that had belonged to his father, and told him to use it well. It turned out to be a Cloak of Invisibility, and Henry's mind was awhirl with the possibilities. Even so, Henry could see the gears turning in Dumbledore's head, and he could tell the old wizard was up to something.

Oddly enough, the groundskeeper, a massive man (taller even than the prototype Tyrants, apparently) by the name of Hagrid, seemed to try and latch onto him, if only because he knew Henry's birth parents. Henry thought him an uncultured oaf, but there was also no pretence about Hagrid, he had to admit. He seemed genuinely warm and kind, and Henry thought him likeable enough.

It was because of Hagrid that he was here, at midnight, at the man's cabin. Hagrid had known about the Invisibility Cloak, as he told Henry to wear it. Henry then covertly followed Hagrid, who fetched Madame Maxime from the carriage where the Beauxbatons delegation was present. And soon, they were led to an enclosure, quite a distance away from the school, and Henry gaped openly.

Dragons! Honest-to-God _dragons!_ Massive, vicious ones, fighting against the wizards trying to restrain them. Eventually, the wizards were forced to stun them, and Hagrid and Maxime approached, Henry following at a short distance. Seeing some blood from one of the ones wounded, he took out a small biological specimen collection kit, and quickly sucked some up with a syringe. Not the best sample, but his mother would champ at the bit to analyse even degraded dragon blood.

As he put it away, he saw Hagrid speaking to a red-head called Charlie. Henry recalled Ron talking about his brother Charlie, who worked in a dragon sanctuary in Romania. He named the various breeds, and then, as Maxime strolled around the edge of the enclosure, he remarked that Maxime shouldn't have been brought here. She was bound to notify Fleur. The First Task was to try and get past the dragon, and Charlie was not envious of the one who'd have to get past the Hungarian Horntail, a particularly vicious dragon.

On the way back, he nearly ran into Karkaroff, the head of Durmstrang, who was coming down this way. As Henry headed back to the castle, he just realised something: Karkaroff and Maxime were sure to tell their Champions what was coming. But had anyone notified Cedric Diggory? He thought not. As soon as he could contact Cedric, he would. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't, if only to have an advantage over a rival. But against something as deadly dangerous as a dragon? Henry had a lax attitude to death, true, but even so, he was unwilling to let Cedric go to his death blindly. Henry also thought that letting Cedric know might have the Hufflepuff owe him a favour.

* * *

The next day, Alexia put the sample of dragon blood into the bioanalyser in one of her personal laboratories, the less-hazardous one, anyway. A specially customised machine created by Umbrella, the bioanalayser would analyse the various biological components of the sample, and even do some sequencing. The technology was decades in advance of anything else the world had.

Lisa stood next to her, peering at the vial. She had been decanted from the stasis tank some time ago, and had remained remarkably calm. It seemed that the prospect of getting revenge on Spencer had calmed her anger. That, and no longer having a misshapen body. It didn't hurt that she and Henry got along well: Lisa had been a teenager when she was forced to become a test subject at the Spencer Mansion. "Dragon's blood," Lisa mused, shaking her head. She was now clad in a dark suit, like a security agent, albeit tailored to her now tall form. "So, dragons exist."

Alexia nodded. "One of these days, I should look into obtaining one. Leaving aside the fact that it would be fascinating to study, I can see the potential for a most powerful BOW in it. I have been studying a text I have obtained in Diagon Alley, Magical Britain's most famous shopping district. Rather rustic and antediluvian, but it is not without its treasures. I obtained many books from their bookstore while Henry was getting his wand. While we did not require an owl, given the telepathic ability of Veronica, I purchased one anyway, as a companion."

"I saw him," Lisa said.

" _Her_. She is a female owl. Henry named her Veronica, in memory of my ancestor. In order to avoid confusion with the virus, we call her Vera for short." In the corner, on a stand, a magnificent snowy owl was perched, and watched as Alexia approached. "Vera was the only owl who did not object to us being near: the others seemed about to attack us." She gently petted the owl, who nipped at her fingers gently. "I may be Veronica reborn in body and mind, but I believe Vera has her spirit."

Lisa nodded. "A beautiful bird. You like surrounding yourself with beauty."

"Our family often does."

"I wonder then what you saw in me," Lisa said. "I was a twisted malformed thing."

"Yes, but I saw _potential_ in you, Lisa. A potential that William and his cronies thought long-since exhausted," Alexia said. "With all those viruses within you, along with the Nemesis Parasite, I felt you to be the crucible for something greater and grander than even Birkin's G-Virus. And I was right. The Sentinel Virus far exceeds the potential of T or G, even Veronica. That is not something I will admit lightly. Combined with Medea…I believe we are looking at the spark, the starting ember of a wildfire of evolution. Once this First Task is finished, I will bring Henry back, and we will use the S-Virus on ourselves. How does it feel, Lisa, to be at the vanguard of human evolution?"

"Hollow," Lisa said bluntly. "My parents are dead. And the man who brought about their deaths is still alive. If he comes here to demand Medea from you, I will gladly tear him limb from limb."

"I have no doubt, but I want to bring Spencer's world crashing down around him. I want him to feel an acutely Ozymandian despair. Only then will I give him permission to die. And you will be allowed to do as you see fit with him."

Lisa nodded, her hands clenching into fists briefly. "I have thought about how I would do it. I want him to suffer. I want to have him infected by one of these viruses. I want him to be in agony, just like I was. And then, I will beat him to death." Calming herself with an effort, she asked, "Will the two wizards be arriving today?"

"Yes. There had been some delays, as Black was having trouble getting into Britain. He is a wanted man, after all. They should be arriving before long."

As if on cue, a communications panel on the wall lit up. " _Alexia?_ " Alexander asked. " _The two wizards have arrived. Where would you like to meet them?_ "

"At the official residence," Alexia said.

" _I was having them escorted there anyway. They do want to see Henry, though._ "

"I shall send a request to him to come back here. I shall be there forthwith with Lisa."

* * *

Sirius Black was far from patient. He was pacing around the room he and Moony had been shown to like a caged beast. He also felt distinctly underdressed for being present in this mansion, which was not unlike a Pureblood mansion. Then again, when you were a wanted fugitive, you didn't have that many opportunities to obtain clothes. This was also the case when you were a werewolf, as poor Remus knew from long, hard experience.

He also knew a little of Umbrella. The Spencer family had married into the Black family a century ago (what Pureblood family hadn't?), and he knew a little about the Squib who managed to make his way in the Muggle world, Ozwell E Spencer. There were rumours around that company, dark rumours. So having Harry enmeshed in it in any form was concerning.

After a moment, he walked over to the wall, where a pair of gold-coloured guns were placed in special slots. As he reached out to take one out and examine it, he heard a regal, haughty voice say, "That would be inadvisable, Mr Black."

"Mr Black was my bastard of a father," Sirius said, turning around to face the speaker. After a moment's pause to take in the sight, he said, "Please, call me Sirius."

The woman who had spoken had a slight smile quirk at the sides of her mouth. Her regal, haughty beauty reminded him of his cousin Narcissa. But unlike Narcissa, who had a cold, distant nature, this woman seemed to be perpetually amused by something. She was dressed in a dark shade of lavender, and wore light-coloured silk opera gloves. Her long blonde hair framed her regal features.

Behind her was a tall woman, well over six foot if Sirius was any judge, dressed in a suit that put him mind of a bodyguard. Although physically imposing, her face was actually rather nice, framed by a boyish fringe of blonde hair.

And there, next to the woman who had spoken, was Harry! He was dressed in Hogwarts robes, having clearly come over from Hogwarts. There was James Potter's face, but with Lily's emerald eyes. He wasn't wearing glasses, though. His expression was of curiosity. There was still a haughtiness to his demeanour, but there was definitely James' mischief and Lily's curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"Very well. You may call me Alexia if you wish," the regal woman said. "I believe you two are already acquainted with my son, even if he was too young to remember you two."

 _My son_. The words stung at Sirius' heart. He remembered hearing from Dumbledore that the stupid old fart had left Harry with the Dursleys. And then, those bastards sold him to Umbrella! "Adopted son," Sirius said pointedly, and perhaps a little recklessly. "Sorry, but I'm rather loyal to James and Lily's memory."

"Understandable," Alexia said.

"But my mother is the only one I have known," Harry said. "Sorry, Mr Black. I mean, Sirius."

In the awkward silence that followed, Remus asked, "And who is this other woman?"

"I am Lisa Trevor," the taller woman said. "I presume you are Remus Lupin?"

Remus nodded. "I understand why you considered giving Sirius sanctuary here, but why allow me to stay?"

"I am well aware of your condition, Mr Lupin," Alexia said. "Umbrella is a pharmaceuticals company. To my knowledge, your world has only treatments for lycanthropy, not a cure. Consider this a win-win situation. I study a most fascinating illness, and you may get a more effective treatment, perhaps even a permanent cure that does not involve death by acute argyria."

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Argyria is silver poisoning," Harry supplied(2).

"But…when I transform…" Remus protested.

"Mr Lupin, our more secure facilities have the capability of containing a dinosaur on the rampage," Alexia said with a confident smile. "A werewolf, I believe, would be simple by comparison."

"You seem confident, especially about hiding a fugitive from the law," Sirius said.

Alexia and Harry merely gave him a smile that suggested something disturbing. That this was far from the only illegal thing they had done…

 **CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Damn, I'm surprised by how quickly these chapters have come out, after so long not updating this story.**

 **Review-answering time! Glad to have all the praise for how I'm doing Lisa.**

 **Reishin Amara** **: I'm undecided as to who to pair either Alexia or Lisa with. If there will be any Alexia/Lisa, it will be on a rather casual basis rather than a full-on pairing. I was originally going to make it Alexia/Wesker, and then maybe Alexia/Sirius, but I'm undecided.**

 **jgkitarel** **: While that wasn't my intention, I'll basically retcon it as being part of Alexia's intentions. However, the Alexia of my story is also someone who values aesthetics as much as science. She's not fond of ugly things. Harry and Alexia are very much Byronic heroes in this story. Alexia is amoral, and Harry has morals, but loose ones. And they view godhood as something to be strived for continually.**

 **FuZzvKiNgZz** **: Bloody hell, mate, your name is hard to write, if only because of all the case changes. Anyway, Harry's initial Veronica form is like Alexia's, only masculine rather than feminine, obviously. So, in short, think of Harry Potter like Alexia's first form, all grey and chitinous, but still humanoid. Any further forms, I don't know yet, but Alexia, unlike in the game, is leery of using a 'queen ant' stage (her second form in the game, before her third 'dragonfly' form), as she knows it will cut down on mobility. As for more consorts, Luna may be a candidate, but I am yet to decide.**

 **1\. Dumbledore was trying to detect the Horcrux. He didn't find it. How this happened will be discussed in a later chapter.**

 **2\. This is actually a thing. Of course, actual argyria is actually pretty strange. It turns the skin blue. No, really!**


	11. Chapter 9: Custody Dispute

**CHAPTER 9:**

 **CUSTODY DISPUTE**

The next day, Alexia was having a surprisingly interesting time. Sirius Black, once he was given a shower, grooming materials, Alexander's personal barber, and some decent clothing, gained a somewhat aristocratic bearing. True, he still had a very flippant, iconoclastic and anti-authoritarian attitude. But it was clear that being part of the Black family had inculcated in him some manners.

Remus Lupin, on the other hand, seemed ashamed at wearing such wonderful clothes as she had given him. Clearly not a man used to generosity. He also looked nervous, not just about meeting her, but also worried about Henry…and about his lycanthropy. He was eager to supply a blood sample, but he was worried about the next full moon, less than a fortnight away, on November 18(1).

As she placed the sample of Lupin's blood in another bioanalyser, Lupin looked around the laboratory. "Fascinating, this place."

"It is," Alexia said with a smile. "Since I was a little girl, laboratories, rather than sandpits and swing sets, have been my playground. Genes and viruses my toys. I gained a doctorate with ludicrous ease at the age of ten."

Black whistled, impressed. "Wow. You must've been the envy of a lot of people."

Alexia chuckled. "Indeed. I earned the enmity of one William Birkin, who earned his doctorate at the age of sixteen, shortly before joining Umbrella. He was jealous of both my intelligence, and the high standing of the Ashford family in Umbrella, though even then, that standing had fallen somewhat. Spencer is trying to ensure that he alone has supremacy within Umbrella. He rewrites the official history on occasion."

"So, what is it that you do here?" Black asked. And a change came over the man. His grey eyes became penetrating, and his expression stern. "I know my way around the Muggle world, and even before my imprisonment, I heard nasty rumours about Umbrella. Rumours of biological weapons. And I know Old Man Spencer was a Squib, and one who hated being a Squib. And I know that the Ashfords are not a magical line. Believe me, my bitch of a mother shoved the knowledge of a hundred different wizarding families into my head."

Alexia tittered. "Oh my, and you believe that you are in a position to make demands of me?" she asked, removing her glove. To Lisa, who was standing nearby, she said, _Get ready. But no fatal or crippling injuries. Just render them unconscious_.

"I will do anything to ensure my godson's safety. I failed him once when I took off after Pettigrew. I won't do so again," Black said.

Alexia smiled. She had to admire his determination and courage. She scratched the palm of her hand with her fingernail, and let some blood drip onto the ground, where it ignited briefly. Thankfully, not long enough for the fire-suppression systems to take hold. "Mr Black…you seem to be labouring under a misapprehension, that Henry needs protection from me. I am his mother. Yes, by adoption rather than birth and blood. But he is also a child of my mind and ingenuity, and he loves me, and I love him in return. He may be less versed in the magic of your world, but rest assured, _he is far from defenceless_."

"…How the hell did you do that?" Black demanded as Alexia turned back to the printout of the bioanalyser that had been analysing dragon blood.

"Do you really wish to know?" Alexia asked.

"Yes. If it concerns Harry's safety, then yes!"

"Your concern is admirable. But misplaced." She turned back to face them. "Spencer brought Henry to my attention shortly after his uncle sold your godson to Spencer. I was sceptical about magic, but decided it may be a good distraction from…personal issues I was suffering from at the time."

"Personal issues?" Lupin asked.

"I am, to a degree, a clone of an ancestor of mine, Lady Veronica Ashford, an accomplished scientist who, like me, achieved a doctorate before she achieved adolescence. So was my brother, though he had some genes donated from my father, who created us. When we learned this, we were understandably upset. Adopting Henry allowed me to achieve some…distance from these issues, and with the distance, some objectivity. Had I been in my father's position, I may very well have done the same thing to restore the standing of the Ashford family. Spencer wished to have me derive the ability to grant magic to Squibs and Muggles, as you so charmingly put those who are unfortunate enough not to have your gift."

"He wants it for himself," Black muttered.

"Indeed, though the vector virus, Medea, could very well kill him. He is quite old, after all. Not that he would accept such a reason," Alexia said. She then decided to take a risk. Black and Lupin would find out about Veronica and the other viruses later. Indeed, if she did it right, she could have some powerful allies against Spencer. She walked over to Lisa. "However, Spencer's crimes are far worse than merely buying Henry off belligerent relatives. Umbrella was founded partly to create biological weapons, as you heard rumours of. Lisa here was the result of highly unethical experimentation with the first virus they experimented with, Progenitor. When I first obtained her, she was badly deformed by the experimentation. They have pumped her full of viruses, in order to try and create a bioweapon of extraordinary power."

Lupin stared in horror, as did Black. "How…how could they do this to you?" the werewolf asked.

"My father, George Trevor, was the architect who created a mansion Spencer wanted built outside of Raccoon City," Lisa said. "My father was noted for placing secret passages and puzzle locks in his buildings."

"Spencer, you see, had an overwhelming fetish for such things. I have to confess, I like them too, but I didn't go so far as to trap the architect and his family, and experiment on them with viruses," Alexia said. "Lisa survived the viral experimentation. For nearly three decades, she spent her life as a misshapen monster, seeking out her mother, and being subjected to experiments. Progenitor was later altered into a virus which was named 'Tyrant', also known as the 'T-Virus'. I worked on the T-Virus, intending to improve it."

"Why? Why would you do such a thing?" Lupin demanded.

"Because I wished to unlock the secrets of human evolution, beyond the present norm. Or perhaps Doctor Johnson was right, when he said 'He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man'(2). It was during my initial work on my own virus that Henry came into my care. I combined the T-Virus with a retrovirus I found within the genome of some queen ants. I named this new virus 'T-Veronica', in honour of my ancestor, and 'mother'. Unlike the T-Virus, which was designed to be a biological weapon, Veronica was meant to enhance the person infected by it. And I intended Henry and myself to be its recipients. But I needed to be sure it was safe. My brother became jealous of Henry, and attempted to murder him. In retaliation, I used Veronica on him, which caused a massive mutation. It confirmed a suspicion I had, that in order to prevent neural degeneration, a period in cryogenic stasis was needed."

"You did that to your own brother?" Lupin demanded, appalled.

Alexia narrowed her eyes, glaring at the ragged-looking werewolf. "He tried to murder Henry. I had told him time and again not to attempt to harm my son. He did not listen." Her eyes flickered over to Black. "When Pettigrew betrayed the Potters, you attempted to seek revenge. Alfred attempted to murder a child I had grown to love as if he were my own flesh and blood, out of spite and jealousy. I loved Alfred, I truly did, but Alfred could only love me, and nobody else. And he thought that only he was worthy of my love, not Henry. In any case, he is still alive, technically. We have a laboratory in Antarctica where Henry and I were in stasis. Alfred is imprisoned in a specimen containment area in the same laboratory, where he has been given the rather droll sobriquet of 'Nosferatu'. Using what data I obtained from Alfred's infection, I was able to infect Henry and myself safely, placing us both into stasis. Originally, it may have taken longer, but I managed to make it last only for a few years rather than the fifteen I had originally calculated. With Lisa, I was able to bring it down to a few days. Henry and I are the living embodiments of T-Veronica, along with Lisa. We are at the vanguard for a new stage of evolution for humanity."

"You sound like the Dark Wanker," Black remarked.

Despite the crudeness of the epithet, Alexia found herself laughing, even Lisa doing so. "Do you mean Voldemort?" Alexia asked. "I find it hilarious that you think I would indulge in anything as imbecilic and spurious as eugenics! Especially eugenics that is based on prejudices and preconceptions about miscegenation!" She laughed again. "It's as scientifically ludicrous as the Nazis' misconceptions about genetics and race. Unlike Voldemort, or those of his ilk, magical or mundane, I intend to _elevate_ humanity, not kill every single person who disagrees with me. Spencer, however, is another matter. He wishes to be the ruler of the world, at any cost. He is every bit as ambitious and destructive as Voldemort."

"And what about you?" Black said, peering at her suspiciously. "How are you any different? You may claim you are different, but I know that look in your eyes. I've seen it before."

"As I said, Spencer wishes to conquer the world. I wish to help it evolve. Really, how many times must I reiterate that, before it fixes itself in your mind? I am not a comic book supervillain, or some adversary of James Bond. I am a benefactor of humanity."

"Lady, I've known some crazy women in my time. One of them was my own cousin. Another was my late and very unlamented mother. And I was a Hit Wizard for the DMLE before I got sent to Azkaban. I know how to spot the signs."

"Oh? And this is how you intend to treat the very woman offering you sanctuary from the forces of the DMLE? At Dumbledore's request, no less? I acceded because I felt that Henry may benefit from knowing you. Perhaps I was mistaken. It is a rare event for me to be mistaken, true, but I do acknowledge it does happen. Continue to insult me, Mr Black, and I will rescind that offer of sanctuary."

"Sanctuary? You're crazy, and so's Dumbledore if he thinks Harry's safe with you!"

As he whipped out his wand, Lupin yelled, "Padfoot, no!"

Mentally, Alexia told Lisa to hold off for the time being, and watched as Black sent a spell at her. A Stunner spell, she guessed. It hit her, knocking her head back, but while she felt a brief cessation of consciousness, it was for all of a split-second. She looked at him with an amused smile, as he stared at her. "How rude of you to do such a thing. You think you know power, safety and sanity. Allow me to educate you on your folly." Carefully, she reached out with her magic, and disabled the fire suppression systems temporarily, so that the effect wouldn't be spoiled. Then, she called upon the power of Veronica.

Flames burst into life around Alexia, burning away her clothes (expensive, but easily replaced). But to her skin, the flames were merely a gentle warmth, especially as she changed. In a mirrored observation window nearby, she saw her skin become a silvery grey, her hair burning away to be replaced by fleshy growths that resembled hair, her now nude body covered in chitinous growths. An elegant, beautiful goddess.

Alexia smiled at Black, who was staring at her in horror. And, she noted, a little arousal. Only to be expected: her natural beauty was still present in this form. Then, she pointed a finger at him. "The first lesson: reciprocation," she said.

Black dodged the wandless Stunner she sent his way, though by dodging, Lupin was accidentally (or serendipitously, in Alexia's eyes) hit by the attack instead, sprawling to the ground unconscious. As Black stared at his friend in shock, he barely reacted in time to dodge a kick from Alexia, a kick that dented the thick wall of the laboratory.

She snatched the wand from his hand, and hurled it away. He reacted by punching her in the face with all his strength. She felt a little bit of blood trickle down her lip. "You have fire in your blood," she said. "So do I."

Suddenly, her blood on his hand ignited, and as he tried to beat out the flames, she knocked him unconscious with another wandless Stunner. From where she was watching on, Lisa remarked, "That went well."

Alexia emitted a most unlady-like snort. It seemed that Lisa Trevor's sense of humour hadn't died when she was made a guinea pig by Umbrella. Focusing her will on Veronica, she changed her body back to normal, even her hair regrowing. She went over to a long labcoat on the wall and began donning it. Not that she truly cared about being naked, but when she needed to get new clothes, she could do without stares and comments from the hoi polloi. "As it seems Mr Black and I have had a difference of opinion, I think we may have found our latest volunteers."

"Won't they look for them?"

"No. Black is a wanted fugitive, and they believe him to be in the Caribbean. And Lupin, being a werewolf, is a second-class citizen in much of magical society. Neither will be missed. Only Dumbledore knows they are here on Rockfort Island. In any case, their loyalty to Henry is admirable, and they may be of use. All that needs to be changed is the antagonism towards me. They'll be unconscious for about an hour." Alexia walked back over to the bioanalyser printout, and looked at the one for the dragon. After a few minutes, she murmured, "Very interesting."

"What is?" Lisa asked.

"Dragon blood. Leaving aside the various biochemical oddities in it, which are expected in a flying, fire-breathing reptile, there's something truly curious about its genome. The bioanalyser automatically pinpoints viral genomes of interest. And there is something very interesting within a dragon genome." Alexia turned to face Lisa. "It seems that this dragon, and potentially all others, was infected by something like Progenitor in the distant past, with this virus becoming a very part of its DNA. _A dragon is nothing less than a natural BOW._ "

"How do you think Henry will be able to face one? BOW or not, it will be extremely dangerous."

"I am working on strategies. So too is Hermione Granger. She seems to have taken a shine to Henry. I believe she will be a most excellent consort to him. And in any case, as dangerous as a dragon is, it is far less dangerous than Veronica." And soon, she thought to herself, Veronica would be outstripped by Sentinel. The ultimate virus. And it would be with that virus that she would begin shaping the world to how it should be. _No matter who gets in the way_ , she thought with a glance at the unconscious forms of Black and Lupin…

 **CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So there you have it. I was wondering whether Sirius and Lupin would join Alexia willingly, but I decided that they probably wouldn't. She's going to make them her test subjects. And remember, while this version of Alexia is a more moral person than in canon, she's also markedly amoral. And Sirius made the mistake of saying he was going to take Harry away from her. Then again, she was probably expecting too much when she discussed something of Umbrella's true nature. She'll have better luck with Hermione: she's still young and impressionable and has an authority worship thing. Alexia is an idol of hers, after all, as indicated in previous chapters. Incidentally, that's what the next chapter will be: Hermione being tempted into becoming infected by the S-Virus.**

 **Hope you liked the twist about dragons having been infected with Progenitor in the past. This is actually an important plot point, something Luna alluded to earlier, but which I only decided to bring to the fore after writing the latest chapter of** ** _Resident Evil: Basilisk_** **.**

 **Review-answering time!** **FuZzvKiNgZz** **: It's basically a combination of the best qualities of the T, G and Veronica viruses, with less of the side effects. Basically, the psy-powers, pyrokinesis and matter manipulation of Veronica (as well as the battleform of Alexia's first form), the sheer strength and durability of the T-Virus, and the regeneration of the G-Virus.**

 **Corvo Regandorf** **: Their relationship will be little brother/big sister, as well as not dissimilar to the relationship between Artemis Fowl and Butler. Lisa's in her forties by this point. As for HUNK, he won't be appearing until later: he doesn't do training at Rockfort until 1996. However, when I come to do the sequel, Harry will know HUNK.**

 **edboy4926** **: Haven't played it (I do have it on Steam), and I have no idea. She'd probably have an orgasm, though, at the potential of Blacklight. I'm sure there'd be more than a few crossovers between** ** _Resident Evil_** **and** ** _Prototype_** **.**

 **Hadoukendave** **: I've never watched** ** _Underworld_** **(unless you mean the** ** _Doctor Who_** **story, which is more about Greek mythology turned into science fiction than werewolves :P) so I can't say. But I've written the chapter already where Remus has been infected with Sentinel.**

 **Vhizard** **: See above. And Veronica makes their skin fire-resistant.**

 **Emperor Vanquest** **: Harry and Alexia's language is more sophisticated or pretentious because that's how they are: very stuffy, British-style upper-class and haughty. Harry's language gets more casual later in the story, though…**

 **1\. I looked up the date of the full moon in November 1994 (1994 being the year during which the first half of** ** _The Goblet of Fire_** **was set), and this is what came up.**

 **2\. This quote is used at the beginning of** ** _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_** **, but I recall seeing this, long ago, on the quotes page on the TV Tropes of** ** _One-Winged Angel_** **, the trope of monstrous transformations (named, of course, for the final boss battle theme of** ** _Final Fantasy VII_** **). It's no longer there, but it sounds like the sort of thing Alexia would quote.**


	12. Chapter 10: Metamorphosis

**CHAPTER 10:**

 **METAMORPHOSIS**

Henry mentally looked over the various attributes, strengths and weaknesses of a dragon. He'd managed to track down and notify Cedric discreetly about what they were facing. When Cedric had asked why, Henry had told him bluntly that it was because he wanted it to be a fair contest (not that it would be fair with T-Veronica, and soon, Sentinel running through his veins), and fighting a dragon blindly wasn't helpful to one's health, not to mention continued existence as anything other than charred meat or ashes.

He had a few days now until the First Task. And two days of that was about to be spent in stasis, being infected with Sentinel. He knew that things had gone badly between his mother, and Lupin and Black. It was a shame, really. He'd had a brief but interesting discussion with them both about the Marauders, the group of pranksters that those two, plus his biological father, had belonged to. Now, they were currently in stasis, ready to become infected with Sentinel. But Alexia intended for her and her son to be infected first.

Though she had also started tempting Henry's friends, or rather, Hermione and Luna. Well, Hermione, anyway. Luna, upon learning that she was going to be infected with an experimental virus that could grant her immense power, or, if it went wrong, turn her into a hideous monster, had basically smiled, and asked when they could begin. Henry got the feeling that not only was her sense of danger skewed (if not non-existent), but she was really into interesting and new experiences.

Hermione was a bit more pensive. She was tempted by the possibility of having a virus enhance her abilities. But she was also somewhat worried. She had very little idea about Umbrella creating BOWs. After some substantial debate about whether to risk it, Alexia and Henry told her the truth about Umbrella, as well as what they intended to do, change Umbrella, and guide it away from creating BOWs. It wasn't the whole truth by any means, but moral indignation and the desire to change provided the spark. Hermione had, until Professor Flitwick gently took her aside, nearly embarked on a crusade to free House Elves in her second year. He had told her that they exist in a symbiotic relationship, one that too many wizards who owned them abused, in order to draw upon magic so that they could live. An appalling state of affairs, but at least Hermione understood that her efforts to free them did more harm than good.

Hermione, deciding that changing Umbrella for the better would be her cause, accepted. Alexia had reassured Emma Granger that Hermione would be all right. It was a bit of a lie: Sentinel wasn't 100% safe, but it was still safer, especially with stasis. Hermione and her mother did have something of an argument, but had managed to reconcile when Emma admitted she would gladly support Alexia in her goals to change Umbrella. They'd also gotten permission with Professor Flitwick, although they told the diminutive professor that she wanted to see Alexia's labs on Rockfort Island.

Soon, Alexia arrived, with Lisa Trevor in tow, Portkey ready. It was Friday evening. Come Sunday evening, they all would be changed, and hopefully, for the better.

* * *

"So, what does the Sentinel Virus actually do?" Hermione asked as they walked towards the laboratories. Her mother was there, along with that Lisa Trevor woman.

"To be honest, I have little idea of the S-Virus' full potential," Alexia said. "However, Lisa is an example. At the Spencer Mansion, she was turned into a human guinea pig, pumped full of various viruses. They enhanced her strength and durability, but at the cost of degrading her mind, a degradation I reversed when I infected her with Veronica, which combined with the other viruses to create Sentinel. And judging by my analysis, Sentinel combines the best aspects of the viruses, and as long as a brief period of cryogenic stasis is undertaken, the infectee retains their intelligence and sanity. The sheer durability and strength of the T-Virus, the regenerative and adaptive ability of the G-Virus, and the psychic powers and matter control of T-Veronica. Combine that with magic, and you have a heady mixture."

"So, we're becoming gods? Awesome! I want to be Eris, goddess of discord and chaos! And puddings!" Luna cheered. "You can be Athena, Hermione! Except without the whole punishing Medusa for being raped by Poseidon thing."

Alexia laughed, despite herself. They soon reached the laboratory with the stasis tanks. "Now, in the interests of privacy, you will go in one at a time. I will go in with you to help you go into stasis. Each tank will go opaque, so you don't have to worry about being seen naked."

Luna cocked her head at that. She went first. Then, Henry went next. And finally, her heart beating fast and hard in her chest, Hermione went next.

* * *

Floating in the cold darkness, Hermione only became aware that someone was talking very gradually. … _And that is why the Rotfang Conspiracy needs to be exposed_. Luna's voice, she realised.

 _Hmm. An interesting theory_ , Alexia's voice mused. _However, as a scientist, I require evidence._

 _I find that funny, considering you were once part of a corporate conspiracy to dominate the world through biological weapons_ , Luna giggled.

 _She has you there, mother_ , Henry's voice remarked.

 _Umm_ , Hermione tried to speak, but couldn't, merely thinking the words instead, _is this a private conversation?_

 _No, join the party!_ Luna laughed.

 _It means you're one of us now_ , Henry said.

 _One of us! One of us! Gooba-gobble, gooba-gobble_ , Luna chanted(1).

If Hermione's eyes were open, she would have blinked in astonishment. _Okay…_ she thought. _Is this part of Sentinel?_

 _It is one of the powers of T-Veronica, one of the viruses that make up Sentinel_ , Alexia said. _We have been in stasis for nearly two days now. In a few hours, we will be able to emerge. We will stagger our extraction from stasis, in order for you to preserve your modesty. Henry and I will emerge first. Once Henry is dressed, then you will be brought out, Hermione. Your mother is concerned about you, according to Lisa. Finally, Luna. We will bring you all back to Hogwarts. There, during the First Task, they will witness the power of Sentinel. And after that, you shall become my protégé, Hermione._

 _Me? Become your protégé?_

 _Why not? You have a sharp mind. You are a more linear and logical thinker, while Luna is somewhat creative and tangential. I have need of both for my research and development. You will continue your studies at Hogwarts for the time being, but I will also tutor you in the biological sciences. Indeed, through Sentinel, I can actually implant the knowledge in your mind. I offer you this, Hermione, because your intelligence, while not as prodigious as my own, is still a colossus compared to the dull masses of humanity. It needs to be cultured and nurtured, that is all. And I am not convinced that your potential will be realised to the utmost in Magical Britain. How many Muggleborns are there in high office in the Ministry, for example? You would be fortunate to have a secretarial position. You may fare better in St Mungo's. But in the end, the magical world in general is filled with favouritism and nepotism. It is hardly a meritocracy. The idiots put a premium on the purity of blood. A person with enough intelligence can see that that is excremental rubbish. I may be a clone of my ancestor Veronica, but I am also someone who knows that I can do better. That is evolution at its finest. The unconscious striving to become better. Of course, evolution does so by accident and happenstance. Rejoice in knowing you have taken the first step along a path even evolution may never take._

Alexia Ashford's protégé? While Hermione would never consider selling her soul to the devil, there were certainly things she could be tempted with. Being infected with Sentinel was one of them. Becoming the protégé of one of the greatest unsung geniuses of virology was another, for Alexia Ashford was not that well-known outside of Umbrella, save for being a prodigy who had received a doctorate at the age of ten. Hermione could barely imagine the things she could learn under someone like her.

 _I accept your generous offer, Lady Ashford_ , Hermione eventually said.

 _Excellent. We will begin now_ …

* * *

As Henry waited on his mother to decant Hermione and Luna, he was testing himself in another laboratory, under the watchful eye of Lisa, and the bemused eye of Emma Granger. He had an oxy-acetylene torch set up, and was holding his hand in the middle of the flame. Although his hand had become grey and chitinous, he was feeling only a gentle heat, no pain, and there appeared to be no damage.

"Henry! What on Earth are you doing?!" Hermione demanded with her eyes wide, as she entered the room.

"Testing myself. I knew Veronica made my mother and I resistant to flames, but I needed to be sure. Tell me, Hermione, how hot is a dragon's flames?"

After a moment, Hermione said, "Most wouldn't be as hot as a welding torch. That's oxy-acetylene, right?"

Henry nodded. "Burning at about 3500 degrees Celsius(2)."

"The Swedish Short-Snout can reduce timber to bone and ashes swiftly, but it's the hottest by far of all dragon fires. Anyway, wizards don't bother to measure temperature in Fahrenheit, never mind Celsius and Kelvin. Even Potions rarely involve precise temperatures," Hermione said.

"Then I have no problem. Crematorium temperatures can be up to 1000 degrees Celsius, and I am enduring a much hotter flame. I will just need to ensure that I have a change of clothes prepared afterwards." He glanced over at Hermione, only to do a double take, realising that Emma Granger was also staring at her daughter.

Hermione was an attractive girl when he first met her, but it seemed like her beauty had become… _refined_ by Sentinel. Her bushy, messy mass of brown hair had become silken, elegant waves. Her front teeth were no longer so prominent. Her figure was more elegant. For all of Luna's facetiousness, Henry reflected that she wasn't too wrong about Hermione becoming the next incarnation of Athena made flesh. And he could feel the signs of lust and infatuation truly stirring more than they had before.

Realising he was staring, he turned back to the cutting torch and turned it off. "How does it feel to be enhanced by Sentinel, Hermione?"

"…Strange. Aside from the psychic powers, I don't really feel that different. That's the strange part."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to your powers. The good thing is about Sentinel, it's patched over any potential problems I might have had with Veronica when my mother and I were taken out of stasis too soon." He smiled, before turning to Hermione. "And I know now I am ready for the First Task."

"Against a dragon?" Emma Granger asked, not actually horrified, but a little sceptical.

"I am more worried about whether Sentinel can protect me from the Killing Curse than a dragon. Though I have heard of Fiendfyre. I wonder if Veronica can protect me from that," Henry mused. "Anyway, this will be an excellent test of Sentinel's full potential."

"Of that, we are in agreement, my son," Alexia said, bringing in Luna. Luna didn't look that much different, although she seemed to be experimenting with transforming parts of her body into the first stage of the Veronica mutation. "You are ready for the First Task. It is time for Magical Britain to be educated on the true meaning of power. Their stagnant minds need some shaking up, to use a vulgar term."

" _Wit without measure is mankind's greatest treasure_ ," Luna said in a sing-song voice. "The motto of Rowena Ravenclaw…" Suddenly, her eyes widened. "A Lesser-Thanatic Mock-Nargle!" she suddenly yelped, before she opened up a wound on her palm, and sent blood spraying all over a corner of the room, igniting it.

Alexia stared at what Luna had just set on fire (and the sprinkler systems were just starting to activate, meaning they were all going to get a really cold shower), and then did something she normally didn't do, save for in the privacy of her head.

She facepalmed.

"Luna…did you just seriously set that genetically modified tomato plant on fire?" Henry asked, astonished.

"There was a Lesser-Thanatic Mock-Nargle crawling on it," Luna said. "They _bite_."

"…I'm going to regret asking this," Emma asked, as water began to spray down on them all, "but why do you have a GM tomato in your laboratory?"

"I enjoy a good salad, but I have never found the right tomato for them. I thought I would make my own between working on Sentinel," Alexia mused. "I think I may have to go back to the drawing board…"

 **CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **The next chapter will be the First Task. Then, between that and the Yule Ball will be Alexia making plans to usurp Spencer, with the help of Wesker. But perhaps not the Wesker you have expected. Yes, I intend to bring** ** _Alex_** **Wesker into this story.**

 **Now, in case you're wondering why Hermione got suckered into being infected with the S-Virus so quickly, keep in mind a few factors. One, she's still got an authority worship thing, and Alexia Ashford is one of her idols. Two, Alexia and Harry knew exactly how to pitch joining Alexia in helping Alexia clean house in Umbrella. Three, Hermione wants to be at the cutting edge of science. The fact that Alexia offered her and Luna a position as a protégé while they were infected with Sentinel only added icing to the cake. She's now effectively part of Alexia and Harry's entourage.**

 **As for Luna? She likes new experiences. That little gag at the end was something I made up on the fly, though. She's not actually insane, but she sees things other people can't.**

 **Now, for those of you wondering, when I get to the sequel, the events of the first three** ** _Resident Evil_** **games, plus** ** _Resident Evil 0_** **, will definitely happen. Alexia will manage to take over Umbrella, but the American wing of the company will still have problems. And, of course, given that James Marcus is the one who started the viral outbreak in the Spencer Mansion…**

 **As for how the mass outbreak in Raccoon happens? Well, I have a few ideas, but the biggest one involves a VERY petulant William Birkin…**

 **BTW, I've written up to Chapter 13, so you guys will be getting some pretty frequent updates for a while.**

 **Review-answering time!** **hadoukendave** **: While I have no plans to do any sort of** ** _Resident Evil_** **crossover involving vampirism, feel free to look at my Harry Potter/** ** _Hellsing_** **crossover,** ** _Haemophilia_** **, based on the initial premise of sakurademonalchemist's** ** _It's in the Blood_** **.**

 **Sakura Lisel** **: Lupin was suspicious of Alexia too (and seemed, appropriately, horrific by her experiments on bioweapons and humans). And in any case, Alexia is not going to let a chance to run laboratory tests on a werewolf pass her by.**

 **AnFan-n-More** **: You can stop being afraid. The Medea vector virus is a separate virus to Veronica, and in any case, Alfred was infected by Veronica long before Alexia perfected Medea. So Alfred has no magic. It doesn't mean he's not dangerous, though…**

 **Kmon13** **: This story is set four years before the events of** ** _Resident Evil: Code Veronica_** **. In addition, events in Raccoon (what little I have worked out for the sequel) will have STARS and their associates as (albeit reluctant) allies with Alexia. Umbrella, as hinted above, will basically be split in two: the European branch (headed by Alexia) and the American branch (with Birkin and Wesker being key players). Because the American branch wants its independence from Alexia, the outbreaks seen in the first few games will still happen, in spite of a nail. But unlike the games, Umbrella in Europe will try to clean up the mess, unofficially.**

 **diagonalpumpkin : Sirius is both impulsive and highly-protective of Harry. And when Alexia made the mistake of discussing her dealings with Sirius, he leapt to conclusions. This is in character for Sirius: he wants to protect Harry, no matter what, and thinks Alexia to be a threat. Unfortunately, he charged right in without thinking that Alexia would have an ace up her sleeve. And while Hermione is not quite Harry's equal intellectually, she would get there with the right tuition: Alexia intends to make her and Luna her protégés, as seen in the next chapter.**

 **1\. This line is modified from one from a rather infamous film from 1932 called** ** _Freaks_** **. The line comes from a scene where the sideshow performers, after the wedding between a normal (but rather nasty, as it turns out) trapeze artist and a midget, begin chanting "** ** _We accept her, we accept her. One of us, one of us. Gooba-gobble, gooba-gobble…_** **" I remember this being referenced in other shows, including, if I recall correctly, a scene (can't remember if it's a deleted scene) from** ** _The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse_** **. Ironically, the titular 'freaks' of the film** ** _Freaks_** **are sympathetic, and are exploited by supposedly 'normal' people.**

 **2\. I looked up how hot welding torches can get. I also checked to see what temperatures crematoria burn at. I like to think that, although T-Veronica can resist such high temperatures, plasma (as fired by the Linear Launcher) is another kettle of fish entirely.**


	13. Chapter 11: The Power of the S-Virus

**CHAPTER 11:**

 **THE POWER OF THE S-VIRUS**

Henry would have been lying if he said he felt no fear. True, Sentinel was powerful, but he was about to test it in a very real and very dangerous manner. Versus a dragon, and one of the nastier ones to boot, the Hungarian Horntail Charlie Weasley had pointed out to him. It was the one he selected from the bag that punch-drunk oaf Bagman had proffered him. Bagman even had the temerity to offer him help, in direct contravention of the rules.

Of course, his mother had helped him. But she was not a member of Hogwarts staff, or an official in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

He had spent an hour or so after he had tested his fire-proof skin testing his ability. When in the first-stage Veronica mutation, he had incredible agility, and considerable strength. Enough that Alexia declared him to be better than the Tyrant prototypes. There was a non-zero chance he could punch a dragon…and it would feel it. As a final test, they decided Henry would test himself against a Hunter-α. The Hunter stood no chance. Henry had killed it within a few seconds, simply by rushing forward and punching it in the head. The result was as messy as if he had put a shotgun into the creature's mouth.

Now, here he was, waiting. It was currently Krum's turn, with Cedric and Fleur having gone out before. And then, he heard Bagman announcing with that megaphone-like spell on his voice that Krum had succeeded. Henry sighed as he thought about it. He had to retrieve a golden egg from amongst the nest of the dragon he was to face. He could use speed to move around the dragon, or simply beat it into submission. Or maybe the fire of Veronica-enhanced blood would actually hurt it, though he didn't know for sure.

Then, he was called out, almost too soon. As he made his way into the arena, he looked around at the crowds, the dull masses who wanted to see him fight a dragon for their petty amusement. He could see his mother, along with Lisa, Hermione, Luna and Dr Granger watching expectantly. Hermione was holding a (shielded) video camera, filming what happened for Alexia. Luna, they had to caution about using her Veronica powers in front of other people. And so far, she showed quite a lot of restraint. Though she had told Henry, through their mental link, that she sorely wished to burn the Nargles.

He gave a smile to the audience, then carefully took out his wand for all to see, and placed it carefully on the ground. An eruption of shouts of dismay and disbelief echoed around the arena. " _It seems that Mr Potter has decided not to use his wand!_ " Bagman said. He could never seem to remember that Harry Potter was now Henry Ashford. " _Has he got a death-wish or something?!_ "

 _No. You're about to witness the power of Sentinel. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show_ , Henry thought.

He looked over to the dragon, which was peering at him curiously. It was even sniffing the air, and whatever it smelled made it wary. Perhaps it could smell the parts of Sentinel that were, long ago, Progenitor, the very virus that was now part of the dragon's DNA, if what Alexia said was true.

Henry grinned, and began approaching, in unhurried measured steps. The dragon got even more skittish, its fear giving way to desperate anger. Flames were fired in front of him, in order to deter him. He merely stepped through them, his clothes starting to catch on fire. Just a bit, but enough to make the audience concerned.

" _It seems that the dragon is…_ _ **afraid**_ _of him!_ " Bagman announced. " _I'm told this is NOT normal behaviour for dragons! What has Mr Potter done?_ "

Henry smiled. The Hungarian Horntail knew that there was an even more dangerous being right in front of it. As he got too close, the Hungarian Horntail, after emitting a roar that wasn't so much as, ' _DIE!_ ' as ' _STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!_ ', launched a fireball right at him. It hit him dead-on, provoking screams of concern from the crowd.

It might as well have been halitosis for all it did. He felt the part of Sentinel that was Veronica launch into action, hardening his skin, transforming his very flesh into something stronger than dragonfire, stronger than the dragon. He continued his walk, even as the embers of the uniform he had to wear dropped off him, revealing his Veronica form for everyone to see. The power of Sentinel was intoxicating, singing an aria in his ears, in time with the bassline that was his pulse.

It was time for a performance these wizards and witches would never forget…

* * *

Ron Weasley had seen many strange things in his short lifetime. Quirrell with the face of Voldemort growing out of the back of his skull, a blinded Basilisk commanded by the shade of a teenage Voldemort, and his pet rat turning out to be a Death Eater. And yet, seeing Harry Potter, or rather, Henry Ashford, calmly walk into dragonfire, and walk out unharmed, but not unchanged, came close to topping the list, if not actually topping it.

As the flames cleared, he stared through borrowed Omnioculars at Harry, who was very much changed, and not just because his clothes had burned away, leaving him naked. His skin had become a bluish-grey, with darker chitinous coverings that covered much of his body, with one growth covering his groin, thankfully. Strange fleshy growths appeared in place of his hair. He still walked serenely towards the dragon, as if he was merely on a pleasant stroll, rather than just surviving getting immolated by dragonfire.

The dragon recoiled, roaring in what had to be fear. Harry seemed to take that as his cue, for he began running forward at speed. The dragon swiped a claw at him as he got too close, but he leapt into the air. The dragon blasted him with more fire, but Harry emerged from the fireball, his fist outstretched, and it slammed right into the creature. The idea of a human being punching a dragon and it having any kind of effect was laughable, ludicrous…and yet, the dragon roared in pain, blood trickling from the wound. It slashed at Harry, and while he managed to dodge, the claw gouged a gash in his arm.

Harry didn't seem to even grimace in pain. Instead, he smiled, and then snapped his fingers as he landed gracefully. The spilled blood, some of it on the dragon's face, suddenly burst into flames. And it must've been hot enough to cause pain for even a dragon, for the beast roared in agony. The gashes along Harry's arm closed up swiftly.

Harry dashed to the dragon again, and a series of lightning-fast punches and kicks were rained upon the dragon. Each blow should not have been enough to do anything more than irritate the fire-breathing lizard. But Ron knew, as Ginny gaped right next to him, that he was watching Harry beat the dragon into submission.

Eventually, Harry used an axe-kick to knock the dragon's head to the ground. The dragon's head bounced a couple of times, and was still. Only the movement of the great beast's chest indicated that it was still alive.

Casually, Harry walked over to the nest, picked up the egg, and began walking out of the arena. Halfway across, mutterings turned into scattered applause, swiftly turning into tumultuous applause, cheers and whistles. " _Well…I'll give him that much. I have never seen anything like that before in my life. I don't think ANYONE has ever seen someone beat the stuffing out of a dragon. And he finished in the shortest time, too. Three minutes, all without a wand! Hell, all without a stitch of clothing on! If you told me that someone could beat the living daylights out of a dragon naked, I would've thought you drunk out of your mind on Firewhiskey!_ "

* * *

Henry smirked when he heard that pronouncement. He walked over to where he had left his wand, and picked it up, then went over to the entrance to the enclosure, where Moody, McGonagall, and Hagrid awaited, the latter looking a little put-out that Henry beat the shit out of the dragon. The former two, however, were just gaping in astonishment. "What the hell is that, Ashford?" Moody asked.

Henry merely smiled. "This, Professor Moody, is T-Veronica." No sense in talking about the S-Virus, and in any case, a lot of what they had seen was the powers given by Veronica.

McGonagall seemed to gather her wits. "Well, you'll need to see Madam Pomphrey," McGonagall said, the stern-looking witch looking at him. "At the very least, you need a change of clothes."

Henry chuckled, despite himself. "Yes, I suppose I will. I will need somewhere private to change back to normal too."

She led him into the medical tent, where the stern medi-witch, Madam Pomfrey, was bustling around. She muttered, disgustedly, "Dragons. Dementors last year, and a Basilisk petrifying people the year before that…" She looked up, and blinked. "Mr Ashford! What have you done to your clothes?!"

"The dragon decided to burn them," Henry said offhandedly. He frowned. "Are the other Champions okay?"

"Mr Diggory is a little burnt, but nothing too serious, thankfully. The other Champions sustained no injuries, though with Miss Delacour, it was a near thing. Her clothes got slightly singed by her dragon while it was asleep." Pomfrey shook her head as she looked Henry up and down, taking in his transformed form. "Is this…reversible?"

"Perfectly, but I require some privacy to do so. And some new clothes."

"I have a patient's smock." She handed one to him. "Go and change, please."

* * *

Changing back into a human appearance was about as easy as swallowing. Even his hair grew back. He changed into the smock, before striding out, to find Alexia, Hermione, Luna, Lisa, and Dr Granger present. They led him out to see his score being given by the judges: namely, the three heads of the schools, along with Bagman and Crouch.

Maxime gave him a nine, as did Crouch and Dumbledore. Bagman put out a ten. And Karkaroff…a six.

"I daresay he is somewhat biased, don't you agree?" Alexia remarked.

"It's a better score than he gave the other Champions, barring Krum," Lisa observed. "And it means that Henry is ahead of Krum, who got the best score. Krum only lost points because his dragon trampled the eggs in the nest."

Alexia smiled. "A most brilliant display, Henry. Well done. A rather crude means of subduing the dragon, with pugilism, but extraordinarily impressive all the same. It has certainly impressed your audience."

 _Yes, mother_ , Henry replied via their telepathic link. _They've now seen the power of the S-Virus. I wonder, though…how will they view this?_

 _Awe? Fear? Who knows? But they now know you are a force to be reckoned with. Even the imbeciles who followed Lord Voldemort will be thinking twice about hurting you, for they have not fought a dragon with nothing but hands and feet. However, I think that Voldemort is but one problem_. Alexia's eyes flickered over to the judges section of the stands. _I believe a certain old man may have plans for you, plans which I do not intend on going along with. Oh dear, that frightful Rita Skeeter is coming this way. Come along, we had best give her something, otherwise, she may just make up any old thing and call it objective reporting…_

* * *

Dumbledore was disturbed. He was glad that Harry had survived this ordeal, but he also found himself disturbed by the manner in which Harry achieved his victory. Transforming into a strange, mutated form, and proceeding to demonstrate strength and speed no humans possessed normally. Impressive, yes, beating a dragon into submission. But…should anyone have that kind of power? Even Harry Potter?

True, he needed whatever he could get to face Voldemort, and with the Horcrux no longer within him (something Dumbledore used a spell to check on), he no longer had that death sentence hanging over him. But Harry was beholden to his adoptive mother, and what was more, Hermione and Luna were beginning to fall under Alexia Ashford's spell. If the woman had the same abilities as Harry did, then that was truly disturbing, especially given the woman's attitude. She was very much like many Blood-Purists in attitude…and too many of her characteristics reminded him of Voldemort, especially when Voldemort had still been Tom Marvolo Riddle.

And even if that weren't the case, even if she was benign, Dumbledore knew the fickle nature of public opinion. Even in the Muggle world, it was ever in flux. In Magical Britain, it was even more so. Heroes too often became villains in the public eye.

And there was another concerning factor. He had asked Remus Lupin to keep him apprised of what the situation was on Rockfort Island, but Remus hadn't sent any letters by owl since arriving there. And given what Alexia admitted about Umbrella's purview, the creating of bioweapons, could it have been possible that Sirius and Remus were now her prisoners, with Alexia researching lycanthropy to try and weaponise it?

Dumbledore was afraid that, sooner or later, he would have to confront Alexia Ashford on what she was planning for Harry…and what her plans were for the world. Because if his suspicions were correct, then he would have to, for the sake of the world, take Harry away from her, and find a way to stop her, even for good…

 **CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Here you have it, Harry's first proper use of Veronica, or rather, the Veronica powers in the Sentinel Virus. And Dumbledore's worried. Now, keep in mind that, while Dumbledore will later become an antagonist of this story, he's still, to a degree, a 'good guy'. Okay, he's a manipulative old goat, but he also tries to do what he thinks is best for society and the world, and he's worried that Alexia is going to take over the world. Which she is, just not in the way Dumbledore thinks she will. Unfortunately, his attempt to discern her motives via Legilimency will have unforeseen consequences.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the fight scene. While Alexia's first form isn't as nimble in** ** _Resident Evil: Code Veronica_** **, I watched playthroughs on YouTube of** ** _The Darkside Chronicles_** **, and that version of Alexia, at least in her first form, is actually quite nimble and acrobatic. Incidentally, Harry's first Veronica form is similar to the one seen in** ** _The Darkside Chronicles_** **of Alexia's first form, only masculine, obviously.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Kurasabe** **: Don't worry, Luna's not going to burn things willy-nilly. Not yet, anyway.**

 **Noir117** **: While you have a slight point, Alexia appeals to Hermione's intellectual vanity more. Anyway, Umbridge more than deserved the Centaur Gangbang.**

 **Jostanos** **: In all likelihood, they'd be killed, or else badly injured.**

 **diagonalpumpkin** **: Luna will find more creative ways to take revenge than burning things.**

 **hadoukendave** **: Unlike most of the magical world, Alexia views magic purely as a tool, and uses it only when necessary. She will learn how to Apparate, though, amongst other things, and as shown in the fight against Sirius, she can already cast spells wandlessly, and knows how to use many other spells. I think she will be more involved in making better spells rather than simply learning them, but at the moment, improving Sentinel and taking over Umbrella, along with ensuring Harry's all right, consumes her time and attention.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	14. Chapter 12: Plotting

**CHAPTER 12:**

 **PLOTTING**

The loud screeching startled Henry and Alexia as they opened up the golden egg. With an uncharacteristic scream of surprise, Alexia flung the egg away. Henry hurriedly closed it up again. "What the hell was that?" Henry demanded, his composure slipping even more than Alexia's.

"Your next clue, according to that imbecile Bagman," Alexia remarked, embarrassed by her display. Lisa smirked behind Alexia's back. "Either that is the cry of a creature you shall have to face next, or else that is some sort of language. At least we have until February to solve it. Three months. But we can work on that later. A visitor has arrived on the island. Spencer has sent someone to pester me about Project Medea, but if I know this person as well as I do, then they are not going to be trying too hard."

"Who is it?"

"It is your Aunt Alex," Alexia said.

Henry's eyes widened, and he grinned. He hadn't met Albert Wesker until they came to Hogwarts, though he had heard about him from his mother. However, Alexandra 'Alex' Wesker was another matter entirely.

Despite the shared surname, Alex and Albert weren't actually related. They were children born to giftedly intelligent parents, taken from their homes either through financial incentives or force, two of thirteen subjects of what became Project W. Spencer wanted to create the vanguard of a new superior form of humanity, enhanced by viruses.

He had met his Aunt Alex a few times before he was put into stasis. Alex, like his mother, had a contempt for Spencer and the man's manipulations. She was also a scientist of some note, nowhere near the level of his mother, but certainly a genius. And she knew something of magic, if only through Spencer and Alexia.

Just as Henry was thinking about it, Alex herself came in. Nowhere near as beautiful as his mother, Alex Wesker was nonetheless a strong, confident-looking woman with blonde hair. Unlike his mother, who frequently dressed in elegant clothes when she wasn't working in the laboratory, Alex Wesker frequently dressed in more practical clothes. Even so, the smile on her face was genuine. "Alexia, you're looking well," Alex Wesker said.

"As do you, Alex," Alexia said with a smile. "Though I daresay Spencer is causing you some trouble."

"I wish he wouldn't," Alex remarked with a quiet snarl. "I am working on a number of interesting projects. But the old fool thinks I can shake you down for Project Medea, along with T-Veronica, and anything else you've been working on. He knows you've got Lisa Trevor here. Incidentally, where have you got her?"

Lisa smirked. "I'm right here."

Alex looked at the tall woman, and then did a double-take, her eyes as wide as saucers. After some time spent gaping, Alex peered at Lisa with a critical eye. " _You_ are Lisa Trevor?"

"The last time I checked, I was. Are you Wesker's sister?"

"No. We were given the name of one of Umbrella's researchers. Albert and I are not brother and sister," Alex said. "I don't think he's even aware of Project W. How fascinating. This is a marked improvement on what you were before, Lisa, if you don't mind my saying so. You're lucid, for one thing. Alexia, have you tested her strength?"

"Yes. It is at high Tyrant level. Combine that with a lucid mind and agility, and you have a being that rivals, if not dwarfs, a Tyrant. I would even go so far as to say that Lisa eclipses the potential of Birkin's G-Virus. Unlike myself, though, she has not been infected with the Medea vector virus. I am the only one to have used it."

"And let me guess: you'd rather die than see Spencer use it?"

Alexia scoffed. "You know me better than that, Alex. I would sooner _Spencer_ die than see him use it."

Alex Wesker smirked. "Ah, a _coup d'etat_ , am I right? And you want my support?"

"Indeed. What is your price? I hate to be so vulgar as to buy your loyalty, but…"

"I know, you can't be assured of it, especially in a company filled with treachery like Umbrella. My price is expensive, but simple: I may not want to grant Spencer the fruits of my immortality research, but I intend to continue it all the same. I want your input on avenues I am considering, collaboration, as well as disclosure on anything that might help." Alex Wesker sighed. "Spencer's getting more erratic. The only person who has his full loyalty anymore is that bloody Russian."

"Of course Sergei would have Spencer's ear," Alexia said. "The man's practically a Tyrant who can walk and think. He is utterly loyal to Spencer. He would probably be excited at fighting a new BOW. Actually, speaking of which, Henry here has just fought a dragon…and won, using unarmed combat."

Alex walked over to Henry and peered at him. "Yes, last time we met, you said you were considering giving him T-Veronica. I presume it was a resounding success?"

"Indeed."

Alex smiled at Henry. "Well, you must have wowed those idiots in Magical Britain, Henry."

"I did," Henry said. "By the way, you look better than you did before we went into stasis. Did you find out what was wrong?" Alexia glared at him for the tactless question.

Alex scowled, before she admitted, "It was a degenerative disorder. My muscles became wasted. There was no cure, but Spencer gave me a special prototype virus. I was the only one of the Wesker Children told what it was for. It's based on Progenitor, and theoretically, enhances strength and speed. However, I would have needed regular doses of a particular serum. Unfortunately, all it did was cure the disease and reverse its effects. I suspect it may lay dormant within my cells, needing a trigger to begin. I'm not foolish enough to try and trigger it, in case it causes an undesirable mutation."

"A prototype virus?" Alexia asked.

"Given to most of the Wesker Children at some point in their lives. Aside from Albert, only two others are yet to receive it. The others have died. I'm the only one who survived so far. I guess it did something good, in that I am alive and healthy."

Alexia nodded, before she turned to Henry. "Henry, I would like to converse with Alex in private. Would you kindly take the egg and try opening it under different conditions?"

"I think I'll try drowning it first," Henry remarked with a scowl at the egg.

"A capital idea!" Henry could tell Alexia had hated that damned noise, given how enthusiastically she applauded that idea…

* * *

In a drawing room at the official residence some time afterwards, Alexia and Alex were having tea, along with Lisa, who looked surprisingly demure having her tea. "What did you want to talk about me in secret, Alexia?" Alex asked.

"While I am not sure whether it will make you immortal, I am beginning to suspect I know of a virus that will ensure a long life, barring accidents or malice, of course," Alexia said.

"T-Veronica? Please forgive me, Alexia, but I didn't want to go into stasis for a few years, not with Spencer breathing down my neck."

"I managed to reduce it to a few days recently. In any case, Veronica is not what I speak of. Rather, it is a new hybrid virus."

Alex peered at Alexia, before nodding. "You have my attention." Her eyes flickered over to Lisa. "Is it something to do with you, Lisa?"

"Yes. As you know, my body has become a colony of all sorts of viruses. Progenitor, T-Virus…they even found the original form of the G-Virus inside my body," Lisa said. "I even have the Nemesis parasite within me."

"And I had a notion," Alexia said. "Lisa became a melting pot of all sorts of viruses over the years, and survived. I thought, what if I added Veronica to the mix? Not only that, but I believe that my magical ability, granted by Medea, gave me the ability to actually direct the infection and resultant mutation. I believe that the physiological mutation came back full circle."

"Like the Daleks and the Thals," Alex murmured(1). "Instead of stopping at monstrous mutation, you shaped it into something near perfection."

"Indeed. I think it may have been that magic that created the perfect fusion between the T-Virus, the G-Virus, and Veronica. Given my plans for Umbrella, where it would become a shepherd of the world rather than dominating it like a wolf, I decided to call it the Sentinel Virus, or S-Virus."

"Better than that megalomaniacal crap, like 'Tyrant' or 'God'. I don't know what William Birkin was smoking when he thought he could call a virus the God Virus, only that it must've been pretty strong shit. Okay, I'll bite. What does the S-Virus do?"

"As far as I can tell, it combines the best aspects of the three parent viruses," Alexia said. "That is what I wanted it to be, and perhaps the magic I now have actually granted me my desire. It balances the strength and durability of T, the regenerative capabilities of G, and the psychic, pyrokinetic and matter manipulation ability of Veronica. I would daresay that the regenerative ability of Sentinel would ensure, if not immortality, then longevity. Shortly after Lisa emerged from stasis, I checked her telomeres and her telomerase activity. She has the telomeres of someone in their twenties…and the telomerase of a cancer cell, despite her cells being healthy and differentiated. I daresay that if you looked at my cells, you would find something similar. I shall have to check how it affects Henry and his aging. I would like him to mature into his twenties before he stops aging, along with my new assistants."

"New assistants?"

"Yes. Apparently one of the Dentists in London has a daughter who goes to Hogwarts," Alexia said. "Her name is Hermione Granger. Her mother is something of a fan of Shakespeare, apparently. I fear that any son may have gotten names like Romeo, Hamlet, Mercutio, or Malvolio. Heaven help us. However, Hermione has quite an excellent brain. Not a genius, but certainly wasted in Hogwarts, especially as she shall have to deal with nepotism and preferential treatment given to Purebloods. The other, Luna Lovegood, is strange to say the least. Her father is apparently a magical cryptozoologist by trade, as well as the publisher, editor, and journalist of an amusingly-inaccurate tabloid known as _The Quibbler_. It is riddled with conspiracy theories, and sadly, is more entertaining than the official newspaper, _The Daily Prophet_. Luna is strange and scatter-brained, but she is also knowledgeable about magical illnesses, and seemed to have an interesting theory about Progenitor that I intend to pursue once I have the time: that it is a magical virus. In addition, she is excellent at lateral thinking and imagining things. Her biggest problem is that her imagination appears to lack discipline. It is either that, or she sees things other people cannot. I find myself disturbingly drawn to the latter hypothesis."

"Hmm. It's an interesting theory, that Progenitor and the other viruses are magical. They certainly work faster than most normal viruses. Anyway, you believe Sentinel may have what I seek, at least to some degree?"

"Yes. I will put you into stasis for a couple of days for safety's sake. Perhaps if you are lucky, it may trigger the prototype virus in a manner that is safe. At the very least, Sentinel may be a stepping stone to immortality."

Alex smiled. She liked the sound of that, and of denying Spencer what he wanted. "Well then, let's discuss how to oust Spencer…"

* * *

When Henry dropped the opened egg into one of the filled baths, he was surprised to hear what sounded like a song gurgling from the egg instead of that horrible screeching wailing. He had done so mostly out of pique, so this must've been serendipitous.

After a moment, he shoved his head into the water of the bath, and listened carefully. There was a beautiful song, with lyrics…and rather dark lyrics at that, at odds with the ethereal, beautiful voices.

 _Come seek us where our voices sound,_

 _We cannot sing above the ground,_

 _And while you're searching, ponder this:_

 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

 _An hour long you'll have to look,_

 _And to recover what we took,_

 _But past an hour- the prospect's black_

 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back_.

Henry listened as the song looped, burning the lyrics into his mind, before he took his head out, and took the egg out, closing the lid as he did so. He ran the lyrics through his head. He had an hour to recover something valuable, possibly personal. Of course, with his personal possessions all at Rockfort, they'd find it hard to take them. Unless they meant a person. The lyrics were vague about what they'd take. Henry thought they wouldn't dare take a person with such risk implied in the song, but then, he remembered that they had set him against dragons.

The beings singing said they couldn't sing above the ground. Considering he had to submerge the egg to get a coherent message, he guessed that the lyrics were artistic licence. Whatever he was going to face was aquatic, he would bet. And if he was correct, it meant that it would probably be held at that lake on the grounds of Hogwarts. Which meant he needed to ask some questions. While staff of Hogwarts and the Tournament were out of the question, students were another matter. And maybe one of the ghosts might have an answer. He was astonished to find that ghosts existed, and he was theorising how they came to be, as did Alexia.

Still, he figured out the clue quicker than he thought he would. He had something to go on. But he still needed more information, and he'd get that back at Hogwarts. Maybe Hermione or Luna might know something…

 **CHAPTER 12 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **The plot thickens. I hope I did justice to Alex Wesker, but even if I didn't, this is set over a decade before the events of** ** _Revelations 2_** **, right? Now we've got two of the Queen Bitches of Umbrella working together. And we have Harry learning what the Second Task entails…to a small degree.**

 **Review-answering time!** **cerxer1** **: Hell no! The games and the movies are in completely separate continuities. Of course, then again, in one of the upcoming chapters, I'm bringing in a character from SD Perry's novels…**

 **Kmon13** **: You'll see what Luna does to troll her fellow Ravenclaws with the power of Sentinel later. In Chapter 14, anyway. ;)**

 **tamagat** **: Looked that up, and not quite. Harry's not that muscled, he's closer to what Alexia's first form looks like, as I said, in** ** _The Darkside Chronicles_** **. Only male instead of female. He's not muscled-looking.**

 **1\. Why did I mention these? Well, aside from my wanting to put in a** ** _Doctor Who_** **reference, this is actually a good analogy. The Daleks and the Thals were mutated by the same war, but the Daleks (partly thanks to Davros) became hideous creatures, whereas the Thals' mutations ran full circle, and they look like tall, attractive humans.**


	15. Chapter 13: Lycanthropy

**CHAPTER 13:**

 **LYCANTHROPY**

Alex peered at the readout she had been given. She could scarcely believe that werewolves were real, never mind the fact that Alexia had actually analysed the pathogen, and had discovered something disturbing. "Have you read this yet?"

"I read it some time ago, not long after I detained Lupin," Alexia said as she caressed the stasis tank containing Remus Lupin almost lovingly. "It is truly fascinating."

"Frightening. If this is true, then the werewolf pathogen is also a derivative of Progenitor. Or rather, they share a common ancestor, apparently the same virus that caused dragons to come into being."

"Yes. Which means that, technically, there is a cure. I can merely engineer the existing vaccines we have for Progenitor," Alexia said. Then, a smile came over her features. "Ah, but where's the amusement in that? I was not lying, technically, when I told Lupin that I would try to give him a better treatment for his condition. Of course, his reaction and that of Black to my revelations show that they may need some further persuasion to take my side."

"Indoctrination?"

"Only as a last resort. With Lupin, I could do something nobody has ever deigned to do, at least not for a long time." Alexia turned from the tank, rubbing her chin pensively. "While it may not be possible to actually cure his lycanthropy, it might be sufficient to modify it so that it can be triggered consciously, as well as keeping him lucid. I think the S-Virus may help here. At the very least, it would be interesting to see how the S-Virus interacts with his lycanthropy."

"And what of Black?"

"Hmm, yes. He is protective of Henry, but detests me, or at least believes me to be of the same ilk as Voldemort. It is true, I desire power and domination, but conquering the world so…violently and loudly…there is no elegance, no élan. Voldemort is little more than a Neo-Nazi thug with magic and a dubious ancestry by the standards of his followers. Even Spencer is better than he is, which is not saying much. Anyway, Black will be less easy to persuade, I think. Though given that he was left in prison without a trial for over a decade, and even now has not been exonerated, it may not be truly difficult. Lupin, I shall deal with first. Then, after that, I shall deal with Black…"

* * *

Hermione frowned as she and Luna walked with Henry along the shores of the Black Lake. "While I don't know for sure what is in the Black Lake, I do know that there's a giant squid. I think there may be a colony of Merpeople in it too."

"Merpeople?" Henry asked. "Human-fish hybrids?"

"Not human-fish hybrids as far as I know," Hermione said. "But yes, they have the apparent anatomy of a human for the torso, head, and upper limbs. But down below…"

"Seafood," Luna finished.

"It makes sense. I've heard that Mermish sounds like horrible screeching and wailing above the water, especially those from Selkies. They're the Merpeople native to Scotland, especially freshwater lakes," Hermione clarified.

"There is a colony of Selkies," Luna said. "I've sometimes come to talk to them. They may not look like the beautiful Merpeople most people think of, but they sometimes have interesting conversations."

"Well, at a guess, I think the Second Task involves my having to head into the Black Lake to retrieve something. And I have an hour. I shall notify the other Champions discreetly," Henry mused.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"A number of reasons. I am an interloper in their competition, and every way I can help them will reflect well on me. In addition, they may wish to owe me a favour. Of course, I'll let them figure out their own way to survive underwater. Meanwhile, I will find out for myself. I shall have to approach Bagman and ask whether Muggle equipment can be used. My mother took me scuba-diving in the Caribbean for the birthday before we went into stasis. If I cannot use scuba equipment, then I will have to find another way. While my augmentation with the S-Virus will doubtless have enhanced my ability to hold my breath, I am not sure whether I can hold it for an hour."

"I have an idea," Luna said. "Gillyweed."

"Gillyweed?" Hermione asked.

"It's native to the Mediterranean, and if ingested by a human, gives them gills and flippers for feet, as well as webbed hands," Luna said. "Daddy and I used it on a trip to speak to the Sirens once in Greece."

Henry frowned. "Even so, I'm a little worried about compounding my infection with the S-Virus with a plant with transfigurative properties," he said. "Can you get hold of any Gillyweed, Luna?"

"Professor Sprout has some. Well, so does Professor Snape, but he's full of Wrackspurts," Luna said.

"Would that count as helping a contestant, though?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe," Henry said. "Do you have a private supply, Luna?"

"Yes, I'll owl Daddy," Luna said with a smile. "How much do you want?"

"At least three doses," Henry said. "One for experimentation at Rockfort Island, another for laboratory analysis, and a third one for the Second Task itself. If it does work without causing me harm, then I might as well use it."

Luna nodded, and skipped away merrily. Hermione sighed. "She takes all of this in her stride. I'm still finding it hard to believe I've been infected with a hybridised virus based on bioweapons…and I'm still sane and lucid."

"My mother is a genius, and a genius above so many other geniuses," Henry said quietly. "She is not well-liked in Umbrella because of it, though there are many with massive egos inside it. You have met Albert Wesker. Doctor James Marcus is dead. There's Spencer himself, and there's William Birkin, and Sergei Vladimir. There's also a man called Morpheus Duvall. Umbrella is filled with the strange. My grandfather is one of the most normal people working in the upper echelons of the company. My aunt, too. Then again, normality is somewhat overrated. It is when it becomes pathological that it becomes a problem." He looked over at Hermione. "My mother likes you. It's the only reason why she gave you the gift of Sentinel. She does not give out enhancing mutagenic viruses like candy at Halloween, you know."

"I know, I know. It's just…I remembered when Neville and I faced down Quirrell in our first year. He told us that Voldemort had told him that there was no such thing as good or evil. Just power, and those too weak to seek it."

"He was wrong. Part of morality is what happens when you are given power. What do you use it for? Most in Umbrella want to dominate the world. My mother and I…we wish to help it. You are part of that now." He smiled reassuringly. "And you are brave to undertake it. Don't worry. My mother won't let you fall, and neither will yours."

"Henry…may I ask a question? Do…do you feel bothered about not knowing your biological parents?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, Hermione. I suppose I should feel grateful to Lily Potter. I was told by Dumbledore some time ago that she protected me with her love via a self-sacrifice, putting herself in the way of Voldemort's Killing Curse. I believe a ritual must've been involved as well, an obscure one, lest we have more cases of people surviving the Killing Curse. Yes…I am grateful to her. But I was only a year old when Voldemort murdered her. I only remember her voice in nightmares, nightmares that are memories of that night, I think. I remember her pleading, the cruel high laugh of what could be Voldemort…a strobe of green light. But then, I got a new mother, one who has shown me nothing but love for as long as I can remember. Perhaps once, I was merely a test subject to her, but I believe I began to gain a place in her heart. She infected my uncle, her own twin brother, with T-Veronica, when he tried to murder me."

"And…her brother?"

"Alfred's still alive, if a mindless monstrosity the Antarctic Base call 'Nosferatu'. He had an unhealthy, even incestuous obsession with my mother. My mother did love him as a brother, but he forced her to choose between myself and him. And when she chose me, he reacted badly." Henry shook his head. "But enough of him. Hermione, do not think of yourself as less than human. You are now more than human. And you still have the same thoughts as you did as a human. You are still Hermione Granger. Or rather, you're Hermione Granger Plus. Now, I think we'll have to get back soon. There's some interesting lessons on before long that I want to partake of…"

They started heading back to the castle. Henry wasn't sure what he felt for Hermione. He was attracted to her, for her beauty and intelligence, and an undeniable will when she had a cause to fight for. But was it love? He wasn't sure yet. Of course, his mother was already planning to make Hermione his consort, with Luna another potential candidate (not that he needed or wanted a harem). He'd just need to wait and see how things went…

* * *

It was interesting, observing the infusion of the S-Virus into Lupin. Unlike the other infectees, Lupin's body spasmed and thrashed every so often, presumably due to an interaction with the werewolf pathogen inside. Alex Wesker had gone back to her own lab, opting to be infected with the S-Virus at a later date, once she had read what Alexia had given her about it. She also had data from Alexia about Medea to keep Spencer off her back.

Eventually, Lupin's body ceased its activity. However, Lupin seemed to have withdrawn into his mind, and Alexia could not contact him telepathically. Eventually, deciding it was safe to do so, she drained the stasis tank and, with Lisa's help, brought him out.

The man had been prematurely aged, Alexia had noted, presumably by his condition. Black also had that, but not as much, and presumably from his time in Azkaban. Now, he looked to be in his late twenties, his scars faded, though not actually gone. He was now somewhat muscled, not actually musclebound, but toned.

Alexia carefully injected him with a special stimulant used to awaken people after a period spent in stasis. She didn't keep him under restraint. That was what Lisa was for.

After a few minutes, Lupin's eyes flickered open. Where they had been green before, they were now amber. "Rise and shine, Remus Lupin," Alexia said with a smile.

"What have you done to me? Where's Sirius? Where's Harry?" Lupin demanded.

"Well, in reverse order, _Henry_ is at Hogwarts. Sirius Black is still sleeping. And what I have done to you is given you a gift," Alexia said, still smiling. "I must confess that I am curious, though: has my gift cured you of lycanthropy?" She held up a special torch. While Lupin was in stasis, she had subjected his cells to various wavelengths of light, trying to find that right frequency and intensity that triggered the werewolf mutation. She had found it. Which was why she shone a light that had the eerie hue of moonlight into his face.

She saw that Lupin began to change…but he was also suppressing that change, with a supreme effort of will. In fact, she had the feeling he was surprised by his ability to resist the transformation. After a minute or so, she shut off the light. "Interesting," she murmured. "How long does it take you to transform normally?"

"A lot quicker than that," Lupin said, obviously astonished.

"So the transformation occurs, but you can resist it. I wonder, though…" Suddenly, she had to dodge back as Lupin lunged at her.

"What the hell have you _done to me?!_ " Lupin snarled, his voice beginning to deepen and warp. Flames burst into life around him as he transformed, leaping off the gurney he was on.

Alexia took a brief moment to look at his transformed state. It was rather like looking at the twisted offspring of a werewolf and a Hunter, a hunched-over muscled dark-furred thing that nonetheless radiated an elegant deadliness. His head was still mostly human, but his hair had grown out and become shaggier, even thicker, and his skin was now pale. His ears had become pointed, his teeth looking a little more canine. Elongated talons emerged from his fingers and toes. Dark brown fur covered most of his body, instead of the chitinous growths normally associated with Veronica's transformation. Then again, this may be simply because it originated from an interaction between the S-Virus and the lycanthropy virus. Hmm, maybe she should call it the L-Virus.

"What have I done?" Alexia asked as the fire sprinklers burst into life, sending a mental command to Lisa not to interfere for the time being. She transformed once more into her own Veronica form even as water rained down on her. "I have liberated you from your lycanthropy, or rather, I have given you the freedom to choose when to be a man, and when to be more than a man. Even now, even enraged and with the body stuck between wolf and man…you can still think, can you not? Or am I being overly generous in estimating your ability?"

She had to admit, she was surprised by his agility. She had barely enough time to react as he dashed forward, slashing at her. As she rolled to the side, Lupin roared, "I didn't ask to be a monster! And I didn't ask you to make me into an even worse one!"

Alexia smirked. "There are plenty of ways I could have done that, Lupin. Ways that could have had you a dog scampering after my heels. But I chose the one that left you with your free will. I only did that for my son's sake, not for yours!"

"You lying bitch!" Lupin yelled, swiping at her again. "You're manipulating him!"

"I am being a mother to him, raising him to go forth in the world, to stand astride it!" Alexia retorted. "He is my son, in mind and heart if not in body! Sentinel runs through his veins as it did my own!" She then smashed Lupin across the face, sending the werewolf flying. As Lupin shook his head, dazed, she stalked towards him. "Not only that…but Henry changed me as much as I changed him. Once, I wished to rule the world, as the Queen Ant of all humanity, with everyone drones under my control. But…as we grew closer…I realised something. What if I failed in such an audacious plan? What would happen to me? And more to the point, _what would happen to Henry?_ " She picked up Lupin by the throat, and glared into his eyes. "Do not presume that my love for Henry is false, Remus Lupin. It is as real as life, death, science and magic. I may be surprised that I can feel the capacity for love, but _it is real all the same._ "

And with that, she flung the werewolf away. As he sprawled, he rasped, "…What are you going to do with me?"

"Well, I have to say, I am impressed. For someone who has spent his entire life afraid of the beast within, you did a superlative job harnessing it. You even surprised me. If you are willing to cooperate, I want you to help teach my son how to defend himself. Dumbledore told me you are well-versed in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and were only dismissed from teaching it at Hogwarts when it came out publicly that you were a werewolf. As long as you do not make an attempt to harm me or mine, or take my son away from me, I care not what you are. What I want is knowledge and information, I want my son prepared for anything life as my child, and the son of the Potters, will throw at him. Sentinel has made him powerful, yes, but I am not foolish enough to assume that he is invincible." She walked over to him, and gently helped him to his feet. "My son is the legacy of your friends. Will you let that legacy die?"

"…No."

"Good. Then we are in accord. Come, we will have to get some new clothing. And then, we can discuss how your future and that of Henry's shall intersect. And do not worry about Mr Black. I will deal with him soon enough…"

 **CHAPTER 13 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Stage 1 Alexia versus Lupin as a lucid werewolf. Alexia won not quite because she was more powerful, but because she was better versed with using her powers. Lupin will be a reluctant ally of Alexia for the moment.**

 **Review-answering time!** **tamagat** **: Regarding Harry's hair: maybe.**

 **IZINA015** **: That's what blackmail and leverage is for. :)**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	16. Chapter 14: A Sirius Matter

**CHAPTER 14:**

 **A SIRIUS MATTER**

After some careful consideration, Alexia opted not to administer the S-Virus to Sirius Black, not yet, anyway. Instead, she decanted him, and strapped him to a gurney. She was careful how she did so, too: Lupin had admitted that Sirius was an Animagus, capable of transforming himself into an animal. Namely, a big black dog.

She then injected him with the same stimulant she had administered to Lupin. Black roused rather quickly, before raising an eyebrow. He tried moving out of the straps, before looking askance at Alexia. "Sorry, but I'm not really into bondage."

"I confess that I am surprised," Alexia said. "I had a feeling that you had masochistic tendencies."

"Where's Moony?" Black demanded.

"He's currently in my library, reading," Alexia said. "Actually, the werewolf pathogen had an interesting reaction with the S-Virus. Would you believe he can control his transformations now? He can even resist transforming when exposed to intense moonlight. Oh, he was far from happy when he realised I had used an experimental mutagenic virus on him, but that is perfectly understandable. I decided, however, to avoid taking the risk of infecting you with Sentinel until I know where you stand." She held up a hand. "Yes, yes, I understand that you are protective of Henry. But please think about it. Henry has only known one parental figure in his life. I refer to myself. You are a complete stranger by comparison. His birth parents and yourself were taken from him before he knew you all for but a year."

"So? You're like Voldemort!" Black snarled.

Alexia scowled, her temper inflamed. "Firstly, I find it curious that you can speak his name without fear. Most flinch before saying that. And secondly, I would thank you not to compare me to that xenophobic miscegenated cretin ever again! I care about Henry, more than you can imagine! I was there for him when you were not, because you decided to pursue Pettigrew out of some impulse for vengeance! You forsook your responsibilities as a godfather on that day, and got thrown into Azkaban, denounced as a traitor, for your pains! Tell me why I should even consider allowing you to assume the role of his godfather!"

"Because I have nothing left!" Black roared. "James and Lily are gone! My family disowned me! My friends denounced me as a traitor when I was framed!" He closed his eyes, and wept. "How would you know what that is like?"

"Better than you would believe, Sirius Black. I told you of what happened to my brother. I had to make a choice, between my blood, and an adopted son I loved dearly. What choice would you rather I had made? For better or for worse, for good or for ill, I chose to save my son over my own flesh and blood. Alfred was my twin brother: we shared so many things. Do you understand the full gravity of what I did? You spoke of your cousin, did you not? Dumbledore spoke of her: Bellatrix Lestrange. A vicious and insane Death Eater. You would kill her if you needed to?"

"Yes."

"But would it be hard to?"

"Not anymore," Sirius said. "We had cells near each other in Azkaban. She taunted me so often. But maybe back during the war against Voldemort…I might have hesitated, to kill her at least. Humiliate her, well, that's a different kettle of fish entirely."

"Then you understand. Technically, Alfred is still alive. But everything that made him what he once was has been eaten away by T-Veronica. Sirius, I will not deny that by many standards, I am…abnormal. But my father created me that way, as a clone of my ancestor, Veronica Ashford. Geniuses tend to be set apart from the rest of humanity. And that is one gift that Henry gave me, as valuable as the magic I have grafted onto my body. He has helped anchor me enough to humanity. I have to see the world in terms of consequences not only for myself, but for him. He is more precious to me than any valuable material you could name. Gold, platinum, diamonds, silver, saffron, fine tea…he is more precious to me than that. And it is because of that that I intend to change Umbrella for the better. And with it, humanity."

"You'll forgive me if I remain sceptical. I am a captive audience, after all," Black retorted.

"And you will forgive me if I refrain from releasing you yet," Alexia said quietly. "You suffer from a certain lack of impulse control. And you are deficient in your restraint: hence why I used so many restraints on you." She smiled a little at her own pun. As she walked over to look at a printout, she said, "However, you have to wonder, being imprisoned for a dozen years…why did nobody ever ask a question why? At best, Magical Britain is populated with imbeciles who were all too-readily able to believe in your guilt. At worst…someone wanted you kept inside. I personally believe the former to be the case. And few believe in your innocence. But under my Umbrella, you should be safe…and you can take a personal hand in helping Henry learn what he needs to survive against not only Voldemort, but people who might attack someone in his position. Umbrella, after all, is filled with a plethora of pathological personalities…and I cannot believe the alliteration I just made. This is a company whose CEO murdered the architect of his dream mansion, who ordered the death of one of his chief scientists, albeit one with an ego that made mine look Lilliputian by comparison. Henry will remain in danger, regardless whether he is part of your world, or mine. I do not discard people lightly, Sirius Black, which is why I am giving you a chance. We share common goals, you and I: the destruction of Voldemort, and Henry's continued wellbeing."

Black contemplated this, looking far from happy. After a moment, he said, "I'll put up with you, but only for Harry's sake. Now, let me go."

"Actually, not yet. You have agreed, albeit on sufferance, to help Henry. But I feel that in order to do that effectively, I need to infect you with Sentinel. Worry not, I will not take away your free will." She then glared down at him, her eyes like blue glaciers, as she injected him with sedative. "Not unless you force me to."

Black's retort died when he fell unconscious. Alexia pursed her lips. At least the sedatives and stimulants she developed didn't interact catastrophically. It would be too bad if her test subjects died of a drug interaction, after all.

* * *

Henry blinked as he looked at Professor McGonagall, who had pulled him aside after a Transfiguration class where she had announced the Yule Ball. "…Come again?" he asked.

"As one of the Champions in this Tournament, even if your entry was very irregular, you and your partner will be amongst those opening the Yule Ball. It is a tradition of the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

Henry sighed quietly. "Well, at least those dancing lessons with my mother will pay off. She was very insistent on my having lessons in my deportment."

"For which I am grateful to Lady Ashford," McGonagall said, "though your actions with the dragon showed little deportment."

"The public of Magical Britain wanted spectacle rather than deportment," Henry replied calmly. "I gave it to them."

"Yes, indeed," McGonagall said, pursing her lips. "I have never in all my years seen such a powerful Transfiguration of the body. Enhanced strength and speed and durability…and caused by a Muggle-engineered virus. Your mother is a genius of frightening capability, Mr Ashford. I would be careful about what you show to the world. Many are frightened of your abilities."

"Fear is the appropriate response, Professor. It shows that you are sane," Henry said. "It is how one deals with said fear that is another matter. My mother and I do not use our abilities lightly, for the same reason that the wizarding world has the Statute of Secrecy. Incidentally, do you know whether any headway has been made as to who entered my birth name into the Goblet of Fire?"

"Sadly, no," McGonagall said. "Professor Moody and Professor Dumbledore are investigating the matter."

"And that man Bagman has been little help in that regard, I'd wager," Henry said with a scowl. "He seemed thrilled to have 'the Boy Who Lived' participating in the Tournament. He can't even get my damned name right. I may have been born Harry Potter, but I am my mother's son." Henry sighed. "Forgive me, Professor. You did tell me you were close to my birth parents, but I never really knew them. That miscegenation-obsessed moron Voldemort murdered them before I turned two."

"I know, Mr Ashford. But you still have your father's looks, and your mother's eyes. I daresay you even inherited something of your birth mother's sharp intellect. And I'm glad that Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood have gravitated towards you. Miss Granger very nearly got into my House, but after a long Sorting, she went into Ravenclaw. But she had had some bad times of it with her classmates. Sometimes, the Ravens can be as vicious as my own Lions or Severus' Snakes when it comes to bullying. Miss Granger eventually won their respect, but Miss Lovegood, from what I heard, still gets bullied. Although I heard recently that it tapered off shortly after the First Task. I'm still not sure why…"

* * *

Luna whistled merrily to herself as she toasted some marshmallows in the Common Room fireplace. This would've been seen as odd enough, but the fact that she was currently holding onto the marshmallows (her sleeves rolled up) while they were in the fire. "You know, toasting marshmallows while still holding onto them is seen as a test of courage, pain endurance, and sanity by the Staypuft people of Leng," she said casually to the onlookers, some of whom were gawping, others, who had seen her doing this, just shaking their head in astonishment. "Maybe you should try it." Nobody, understandably, seemed willing.

"She's gone so loopy, she's breaking the laws of physics," Marietta Edgecomb said quietly to Cho Chang. "And I know she isn't using any charms or spells. I'd have detected them earlier."

Hermione, who was reading one of Alexia's monographs on the properties of the Queen Ant virus that was used to make T-Veronica, smirked to herself. Using the properties of mutagenic viruses to play pranks on people was puerile and a waste of time and effort. Of course, when Hermione sent a memory of the first time Luna did this to Alexia, the scientist had laughed her head off in a rather undignified fashion. And then said she wanted pictures. Which only went to show, even an aristocratic scientist who worked with bioweapons that could wipe out the human race could have an impish streak.

Still, Alexia did warn her to be careful of Dumbledore. Alexia had learned, through what little Hermione herself had read on the subject, of Legilimency and Occlumency. And while Hermione thought Dumbledore too principled, Alexia asked the young Ravenclaw to try and find out how to practise Occlumency anyway. Better to be a little paranoid than a lot sorry. Of course, too much paranoia, and you ended up like Moody…or Spencer…

* * *

"Certainly not!" Snape snapped as he paced in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Severus…" Dumbledore began, but Snape cut him off with a gesture.

"Are you incapable of listening, Dumbledore?! Are you merely deaf, or brain-damaged, or senile? I am not going to use Legilimency on either of the Ashford's minds! I don't care how much you need the information! I refuse!"

"And why is that, Severus?" Dumbledore asked mildly, but with a hidden undertone of steel.

"Because I believe they may already have defences," Snape said. "I have been observing the Ashfords since their arrival here. The way they look at each other at times suggest that they are holding conversations over a psychic link. Henry, the Boy Formerly Known as Potter, even admitted he has a psychic link to his mother, thanks to the T-Veronica virus. Now, use that vaunted intellect of yours, Dumbledore. Lady Ashford may sit with the Ravenclaws, but you and I know that she is a Slytherin to the core, and what is more, she's one of those who would be a more subtle Slytherin. If I were in her shoes, I would erect defences to her mind, as well as Henry Ashford's. Potentially lethal ones."

"You are a master of your craft. Surely you can…"

" _No_. I will put it in terms that you will understand: I am not _expendable_ , I am not _stupid_ , and _I'm not going to do it(_ _1)_ _!_ "

"Severus! Need I remind you of your obligation? Not only your life-debt to James Potter, which has passed to the son, but also your promise to Lily?"

"It was to keep him safe!" Snape retorted furiously. "He seems safe to me!"

"He needs to be protected from Alexia Ashford!"

"No, he needs to be protected from the Dark Lord, or have you forgotten, Dumbledore?! You told me that he no longer bears the Horcrux! That means that the only threat to his life should be the Dark Lord himself! I cannot speak for Potter, but I see a child Lily Evans would have been proud of: intelligent, polite, and respectful to his teachers! And I find myself, despite everything, actually beginning to like him, for his intellect if nothing else! He's certainly more interesting to talk to than almost every dunderheaded student in this school! He may insist on Alexia being his mother, but I see a lot of Lily in him. If you want Legilimency used on either of them, then do it yourself. But I think you should remember what the school motto is. It's ' _never tickle a sleeping dragon_ ', or have you forgotten? And I for one refuse to needlessly antagonise beings who have shown themselves capable of pummelling an _awake_ dragon into submission!" And with that, Snape swept out of the Headmaster's office, leaving Dumbledore alone with his thoughts.

Dumbledore, as an old man, had made many mistakes in his long career. He had seen the rise of two Dark Lords he had known personally. Grindlewald had been his friend, even the love of his life, and Tom Riddle…had been a student that, although Dumbledore was wary of him, he saw so much potential. He had seen so many men and women turn bad. He knew how to look for people like that. And he could see the signs in Alexia Ashford.

Umbrella, he knew now from his researches after Alexia and Harry first arrived, was a company filled with sociopaths and the ambitious, like a nest filled with the worst Slytherin and Ravenclaw had to offer. These were people who wanted to conquer the world, or undertake illegal research into biological weapons by testing them on human beings, heedless of the suffering that entailed.

He needed to find a way of getting Harry out of Alexia's grasp. The Legilimency wasn't intended to control them. Instead, it was meant to be an intelligence-gathering exercise, finding any sort of leverage they could get. Dumbledore scowled when he thought of Snape. The man had been an excellent spy, and risking death to obtain intelligence was part of the job description!

Once Dumbledore had enough information, he could try using his influence around the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot to get Harry away from the corrupting influence of Alexia Ashford. Otherwise, they would see the rise of a tyranny that would make Voldemort's look desirable by comparison…

 **CHAPTER 14 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **As you can see, Dumbledore's on the warpath. And as I stressed before, this Dumbledore is not a villain. An antagonist, yes, because of circumstances. He thinks he's doing the right thing, and I hoped I explained his motives more clearly in this chapter. Of course, he's going to have a nasty shock when he tries to use Legilimency on Alexia and Harry.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Emperor Vanquest** **: In the sequels to this fic, the events of the first three games, plus the prequel, will still happen. The Spencer Mansion and the Executive Training Facility were caused deliberately by Marcus, and there'll be a moment when Birkin and Draco's actions will cause the Raccoon City outbreak. Alexia will basically cooperate with STARS and use that to help make Umbrella Europe come out of things better, while Umbrella America will go down the toilet. The events of** ** _Resident Evil: Code Veronica_** **won't happen, obviously, and, with some tinkering, neither will the events of Resident Evil 6 (I've read enough of the backstory to know I should eliminate Derek Simmons). But** ** _Resident Evil 4_** **and** ** _5_** **may still happen.**

 **1\. This is a slightly altered version of Avon's line from the** ** _Blake's 7_** **episode** ** _Horizon_** **. Incidentally, if they ever do an audio drama version of the Harry Potter novels, I reckon Paul Darrow, the actor who played Avon, would make a brilliant Snape. You only have to look at how he plays Avon in** ** _Blake's 7_** **to know this. Snape and Avon have a lot alike, I reckon.**


	17. Chapter 15: The Yule Ball

**CHAPTER 15:**

 **THE YULE BALL**

Remus tugged at his dress robes a little irritably, like a child forced into formal clothing. "I never really liked functions like these."

"I can imagine why," Alexia said with a smile as she twirled around in front of a mirror, wearing an ice-blue gown. She usually wore lavenders and purples, but for now, she wore blue. "Was it because people knew about your condition, and looked down on you?"

Remus nodded. He had used some make-up to make himself look like he used to, to a degree. "Not everyone, but…many either hated me, or looked at me, thinking, _you're lucky to be here, monster_. You could see it in their eyes. I'd often get them back, though. I may not have been as active as Padfoot or Prongs in the Marauders, but I loved a good prank or two."

"Better you than me going to this Yule Ball," Sirius said, from where he was lounging on a nearby lounge, sitting next to Alex Wesker. "I'd get arrested on sight unless I used Polyjuice Potion. A shame I'm not a Metamorphagus like Nymphadora."

"I should really contact her," Alexia mused. "I'd love a blood sample from her. But another time. Have the Goblins been cooperative?"

Sirius grinned. While he was still wary of Alexia, even after gaining the powers of Sentinel a few weeks ago, he could get behind sticking it to Spencer. "They're cannier than you'd think. They have all sorts of regulations for people buying Muggle shares, especially under pseudonyms. Thankfully, they've had rather unpleasant dealings with Spencer before, and they view my buying those shares as just retribution. Incidentally, when I went to buy the shares owned by Tricell employees and their relatives, I think one of them was particularly pleased. She's only young, but I think she's like Hermione or yourself, Alexia. She's rather precocious."

"I think I know of whom you speak," Alexia said. "Was it Excella Gionne?"

Sirius nodded. "How did you know?"

"Not long ago, I began receiving email correspondence from various people. Officially, Henry and I have been in a coma after a bad accident until recently. I found Excella an interesting correspondent. She is but eleven, but already is at a near-university level in most areas. She's related to the Travis family who own Tricell. Already, she's a canny businesswoman for a girl who's not even into her teens. And she is an excellent scientist. Not as great as I am, but I set the bar exceedingly high."

"If you do say so yourself," Alex Wesker said. She had only just emerged from her own Sentinel infection. To the astonishment of Alexia and Alex, the Sentinel infection had reactivated the prototype virus. To Alexia's mild jealousy, that meant that Alex could actually move at ridiculous speeds. Even those infected by Sentinel couldn't move so fast, whereas Alex seemed to warp, leaving behind a trailing after-image. What was more, fusion with Sentinel seemed to ensure that Alex didn't need the serum injections that she was otherwise supposed to need.

The side-effects seemed to be that her eyes gained slitted pupils, like a cat or a reptile, so she wore contact lenses to give herself a normal appearance. Alex joked that, if Albert survived, he wouldn't need contact lenses, given his perpetual use of sunglasses. Alexia's mind was already at work, considering ways to combine the prototype virus with Sentinel to improve the S-Virus.

Alex and Sirius, along with Lisa were going to nut out Alexia's little takeover bid of Umbrella while Alexia, Henry and Remus attended the Yule Ball, with Hermione set as Henry's date (he had asked her long before Viktor Krum did), Luna being Ron's date, and Ginny actually getting picked by Krum, of all people. The two scientists were gathering their political allies to them, while Sirius was buying up as many shares as he could. He thought it the height of irony that his money was going towards buying shares in a Muggle company started by a Squib. The portrait of his mother, Walburga Black, had an apoplectic fit at the thought, though she had once had a bad encounter with Ozwell E Spencer years ago, where he had insulted her looks and her breeding, calling her an 'inbred hound'. Which was the truth, more or less. The portrait of Sirius' mother felt ambivalent about her son being involved with Umbrella, but the prospect of revenge on Spencer mollified her a little.

There was also a related matter Sirius was helping Alexia look into. Apparently a relative of his, albeit a distant one, was a well-placed member of Umbrella, and after doing enough digging, Alexia had become suspicious of the man. But that could wait for another time.

After all, there were other matters at hand than just Umbrella…

* * *

 _Nervous?_ Henry asked Hermione over their mental link as they stood outside the doors to the Great Hall.

 _Of course_ , Hermione responded. _Aren't you?_

 _Indeed, but I try not to show it. That is part of deportment. Showing a grace and elegance, even if you do not feel it. After all, what human being truly feels graceful and elegant all the time? Even my mother cannot truly feel like that in perpetuity_. He looked over at her, and smiled. Out loud, he said, "You look wonderful, Hermione."

And she did, in those floaty, periwinkle-blue robes, and her hair framing her face like that. In fact, in Henry's eyes, she looked every inch the goddess Luna had jokingly referred to her as. Indeed, they had begun referring to each other via codenames from Greco-Roman mythology over their mental links. Hermione was Athena, and Luna was Eris, as Luna had coined them earlier. Henry was Prometheus, and Alexia, with her intentions of becoming queen of the world from the shadows, called herself Leto, the Titaness whose name is said to mean 'the unseen'. Sirius was Zagreus, one of the other names for Dionysus (he thought Zagreus sounded cooler, though he wouldn't say no to the wine, women, and song part of Dionysus), Remus was Apollo (because one, he knew a lot of magical remedies, and two, he had a sense of irony, naming himself for the sun god when the moon affected him most), and Lisa became Artemis, the huntress. Alex was still choosing her own name, but was considering Mnemosyne.

"Thank you, Henry," she said, blushing a little.

They were soon led into the Great Hall by McGonagall, and then led to a massive, round table where the judges were seated. He, along with Hermione, sat down next to a red-headed young man with an officious bearing and glasses. Henry remembered Ron and his siblings had mentioned their older, graduated siblings, and this one must be Percy Weasley, an anal-retentive, officious prat, if his younger siblings' descriptions were any judge. Apparently Percy had joined Barty Crouch Senior's employ in the Ministry. That being said, Percy seemed to be respectful enough to Henry, partly because he was originally Harry Potter, and partly because the pedantic red-head was genuinely curious about Alexia Ashford and the Umbrella Corporation. Henry answered Percy's questions as politely as possible, and enquired after Crouch's own health. Apparently the older man hadn't been in the best of health since the recent Quidditch World Cup. During that fiasco, drunken Death Eaters went on a riot, and Ron's wand got stolen and used to cast the Dark Mark. The wand had been stolen, apparently, by Crouch's House Elf, Winky, who had been dismissed by Crouch. She now worked at Hogwarts, albeit reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Krum was holding forth with Ginny about Durmstrang in his heavily-accented voice, while Fleur complained about the rather low quality of the decorations to her own date, a boy called Roger Davies. Henry sighed, as the idiot seemed to be entranced by Fleur's allure. The young part-Veela was controlling it as best as she could, but clearly, Roger was thinking with the auxiliary brain growing from his groin. However, her badmouthing of Hogwarts was a bit much for Henry, and, in French, he said, " _I would think that you'd try for a bit more deportment, Miss Delacour. You are, after all, a guest here, as much as I am._ "

" _At least back home, I would not have as many foolish boys drooling at me_ ," Fleur said, looking at Davies with some annoyance. She then looked at Henry. " _You live with Lady Ashford. Do you not think this castle is…dreary?_ "

" _I find it intriguing. I enjoy novel experiences_ ," Henry said. " _I find a magical castle, while a bit of a cliché, actually quite fascinating. Of course, I find research more fascinating_."

Fleur shrugged, before returning to her food. She and Henry were on good terms at least, given that he warned her well in advance of what she could expect in the Second Task. Of course, the fact that he had apologised for stealing her glory when they first met helped. And Fleur, surprisingly for someone from a magical background, was actually fairly knowledgeable about biology.

Soon, after the meal was over, it was time for the dance. He and Hermione were the envy of the other Champions, dancing with grace and élan. He had also asked Remus, who was dancing with Lisa, to approach the Weird Sisters with a request. Apparently they accepted, for after a while, the lead singer announced the request. It wasn't really dancing music, but Henry had a bit of a guilty pleasure. He liked pop music a bit more than the classical stuff his mother seemed to prefer, and the distinctive opening bars of a certain song rang out, before they started singing…

 _We passed upon the stair,_

 _We spoke of was and when,_

 _Although I wasn't there_

 _He said I was his friend,_

 _Which came as some surprise_

 _I spoke into his eyes_

 _'I thought you died alone_

 _A long, long time ago.'_

 _Oh no, not me,_

 _I never lost control._

 _You're face to face_

 _With the Man Who Sold the World…_

* * *

Dumbledore had to admit, the Muggle song was quite good. He had become a fan of David Bowie, and he enjoyed the Weird Sister's rendition of the song. Still, it didn't make what he was about to do any easier. Despite his cajoling, Severus refused to use Legilimency against the Ashfords, or even against their associates. And Remus seemed to have been suborned by Alexia Ashford, which meant that Black had suffered the same fate, or had been killed.

That was why Dumbledore intended to do so with Alexia tonight. She looked truly regal and beautiful, but he knew she was a snake in the garden. Which was why, when they danced together, he looked into her eyes during a lull in the dancing, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, and he thought to himself, _Legilimens_.

* * *

The first thing that hit him was the cold, the sheer biting cold. He realised that the mental landscape was one vast snowfield, and judging by the sheer cold, it was probably an arctic one. Alexia did mention that, while she and Harry were in stasis, they were in a laboratory complex in Antarctica.

As he trudged forward, resisting the cold by sheer force of will (this was a mental landscape, after all, not reality), he found himself coming across a mansion of sorts, not even remotely covered in snow. He walked forward, and opened the doors carefully, wincing at the loud creak.

He found himself within a large mansion, with a portrait at the head of the stairs. A girl and a boy were with an older man in the portrait, clearly family. And if he didn't know any better, the girl resembled a much-younger Alexia Ashford. As he approached, it seemed to shimmer and fade, becoming a grand door.

Dumbledore had a bad feeling about it, but steeling himself, he walked through. He needed to find an important place to start looking for memories.

He found himself in a blank white space, its only features being eight chairs arranged in a circle around a central dais. And as he walked, rather stupidly, onto the dais, he heard a titter of laughter from behind him. He whirled to find Alexia sitting on one of the chairs. But this wasn't the Alexia he saw in reality. She looked like Harry did during the First Task, her skin bluish-grey, chitinous growths barely preserving her modesty, her hair replaced with strange fleshy growths that mimicked hair.

"Well, I did not think you would truly have it in you to enter my mind like a common burglar, Dumbledore," Alexia said with a smirk. "I mean, I did believe that you were…concerned about my raising Henry, but I did not think you would be so foolish as to do this."

"Am I foolish, Lady Ashford? I think not. I am a Master Legilimens. I have forgotten more about magic than you ever will learn, and I'm afraid that I can't allow your influence over Harry Potter go unchecked for much longer. He is the hero of our world, but you are turning him down a path that nobody should walk."

Alexia tittered again. "You mean a path that _you_ think nobody should walk. But then again, you gave him into the care of those appallingly plebeian idiots in the Dursley family, who promptly sold him to Umbrella. I have been a far better guardian to him than those fools ever would have been, even if they were blood relations. But then again, I am sure you are a greater fool by far. After all, you have just intruded on my mind. Here, I am a queen. No, I am a _goddess_."

"If I am a fool, then you are a greater one, for there are few greater follies than to assume the mantle of godhood," Dumbledore said, intending to attack her, interrogate her memories, and then Obliviate her of this encounter.

"Fair enough," Alexia conceded, standing, "but I did say that in _here_ , if nowhere else, I am a goddess. Would you care to meet my devoted subjects?" With her sharp nails, she sliced open her wrists, blood spraying from the wounds, and bursting into flames. But the flames seemed to form into shapes, familiar shapes. Alexia was soon surrounded by ants as big as horses, made out of fire. Some were flying above her.

As Dumbledore stared at the burning apparitions, Alexia said, "It was once my ambition to be Queen Ant of all humanity, with the world as my nest. You have Henry to thank for diverting me from that course. My intentions are wholly for the betterment of humanity, but I do not think you will listen. Therefore, you will suffer the wrath of my minions, who are a rather fancifully literal interpretation of the common name for many ants of the genus _Solenopsis_. Or, if you prefer, my Fire Ants. Even the real fire ants are dangerous, for they actually sting, biting only to get a grip before stinging, and their venom is very painful. These ones are not only larger, but are composed of fire, a very primal fear, and I have set them to guarding not only my mind, but those of my entourage, including my son. Now, you have a five second head start before I unleash them. Start running."

Dumbledore now knew he was in very deep trouble. And so he started running. But all too soon, he could hear the Fire Ants pursuing him. He made it just outside when the first Fire Ant got him.

* * *

The screams of pain from Dumbledore as he convulsed and juddered, welts appearing on his exposed skin, drew everyone's attention. He sagged to the ground, Alexia screaming in fright and horror, or at least extremely well-feigned equivalents. She knelt down next to Dumbledore, pretending to care for him, while using a careful wandless and silent Memory Charm to wipe not only tonight's events, but also anything more than mild antagonism towards her.

The old man would survive, unless anything truly bad happened. Like some sort of psychosomatic reaction. But Alexia was willing to pay any price to keep Henry safe.

* * *

Not long afterwards, Luna was walking through the grounds of Hogwarts (Ron was currently arguing with his sister about 'fraternising with the enemy') when she heard an interesting conversation between Hagrid and Madame Maxime about their respective parentages. On one of her notions (she had a lot of those), her hand lashed out to a statue where a rather large beetle was perched, and snatched it up. Giggling, she cast a wandless, silent charm on it, and then skipped merrily away. Thanks to Sentinel, she knew that the beetle was actually Rita Skeeter, in Animagus form. And she knew that if she asked the House Elves nicely, they could get her a nice new home for the Animagus paparazzi: a sturdy glass jar. Air holes strictly optional…

 **CHAPTER 15 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Dumbledore's just done himself a mischief, and Rita Skeeter has found that Luna, enhanced by Sentinel, can detect Animagi. I have to say it: Rita's completely and utterly** ** _fucked_** **. I think Alexia has found her test subject for finding out exactly how Animagi tick…though Rita may survive.**

 **Dumbledore, by comparison, got off lightly. He'll live, and with most of his memories and faculties intact.**

 **The next chapter will be about Alexia's takeover bid, or at least the immediate aftermath, where she has Spencer at her mercy. And there will be a surprise character appearance.**

 **BTW, the lyrics are those from** ** _The Man Who Sold the World_** **, by David Bowie. Obviously, I don't own them.**

 **As I post this, I have also found out that not only two of my fanfics, namely** ** _Harry Potter and the Cetra Heritage_** **and** ** _Is Your Great-Aunt an AI?!_** **, have been recommended on TV Tropes, but the Cetra Heritage Saga now has an actual Tropes page, under** ** _Harry Potter and the Cetra Heritage!_** **Booyah!**

 **Review-answering time!** **tamagat** **: As I said in response to an earlier review, hell no. I enjoyed the first two** ** _Resident Evil_** **films, but their continuity is completely different to the games. So no, Alice is not making an appearance.**

 **Corvo Reganorf** **: I hope to adapt** ** _Resident Evil 4_** **in a sequel, but things are still in the air for** ** _Resident Evil 5_** **. Early days yet.**

 **Temporal Knight** **: Keep in mind that Draco's mother comes from the Black family, and that inbred stupidity may have skipped a generation. And there are many kinds of stupidity. Wesker certainly suffered from enough at times, like not ensuring that Chris and Sheva were dead, gloating, etc…That being said, Ada will definitely make an appearance in a sequel, and Jake may do so. Whether Rebecca joins Alexia fully, I don't know.**

 **No numbered annotations this time…**


	18. Chapter 16: Regime Change

**CHAPTER 16:**

 **REGIME CHANGE**

Alexia felt some satisfaction at what she was about to do. Her plan to force a takeover of the stewardship of Umbrella from Spencer had worked. The only serious opposition was from Spencer and Sergei Vladimir. Most of the other executives were either her allies, or cowed into submission, or siding with Alexia for now, but looking for the optimal time and place to stab her in the back. The latter consisted more of the American executives of Umbrella.

Spencer had been all but kicked out of the company with a golden handshake and a useless position on the board. He had promptly resigned in a fit of pique, as had Sergei Vladimir, and the two had tried to flee England, where the board meeting had taken place. But Alexia already had her people in place, with Albert Wesker, having been told the truth about his heritage as one of the Wesker Children, proving to be a useful ally, but of convenience.

They were now in the Antarctic Base, in one of the research labs, Spencer and Vladimir strapped to gurneys while still unconscious. The burly Russian was too great a threat to Alexia's plans: even if he hadn't tried to help spirit Spencer away into hiding, he was still too loyal to Spencer, and too dangerous anyway, to allow to live.

There was a third man present, not actually strapped to a gurney, but certainly unconscious. He was propped up in a chair, his usually immaculate suit slightly askew. Dark-haired, with an aquiline face, he would have been familiar to anyone in the higher-echelons of Umbrella's American branch. Even now, he was stirring, his eyes flickering open with a groan of discomfort. When he saw Alexia, with Lisa standing nearby at the ready, he seemed to remain calm, the only sign that he knew something was up a quiet resignation in his eyes. "Alexia Ashford…to what do I owe this…dubious pleasure?" the man asked.

"Many things, Mr Trent," Alexia said.

"Why am I here, Alexia?" Trent asked calmly, standing. "I presume that you didn't drag me to Antarctica to discuss niceties. And given that, unlike Spencer and Vladimir, I am not tied up, that means that there is something you wish to discuss."

"Indeed," Alexia said. "The first is the fact that I know that your name is not 'Trent'. Your name, your birth name, is Victor Darius, son of James Trenton Darius and Lyra 'Helen' Black."

She had to admit, he was good at keeping a poker face. Only the slightest twitch betrayed his inner panic. He remained silent, however, all but gesturing for her to continue.

"Your mother came from the prestigious Black family of wizards, while your father was from a mundane family, albeit one which had produced gifted biologists. They met when your mother, who was a rebellious sort, went to a nightclub in London. They began a relationship, and fell in love, which had Lyra cast out of the family, as he was, by their standards, a 'filthy Muggle'. They had you, and you attended Hogwarts while they worked at Umbrella. They were amongst the first to work on Progenitor and the T-Virus, but they also had qualms, especially once they learned about Lisa Trevor, who, incidentally, is standing behind me."

Lisa waved at Trent, who actually stared, a little dumbfounded.

"Anyway, Spencer, once he learned that your mother was once a member of the infamous Black family, despite how common the surname was, tried to have her confined so that he could try and find a way to graft her magic onto himself. In the process, her husband, your father, was shot fatally, and in order to deny Spencer what he wanted, she unleashed Fiendfyre on the laboratory, immolating herself, her husband's body and a good chunk of Spencer's hired minions. At the time, you were at Hogwarts, taking your NEWTs. But the last thing your mother did before using Fiendfyre was casting a Patronus to send to you. It must have been a strong Patronus, for they do not last very long normally after the caster dies. She warned you about Spencer and his plans, so you fled Hogwarts. Spencer's men caught up with you in York, but so too did the Death Eaters. In the resulting battle, you were declared missing, presumed dead, as there were a number of explosions, covered up as terrorist bombings. You took the opportunity to go underground, reinvent yourself. And thus, you re-emerged as Trent, trusted executive of Umbrella's American branch."

Trent, to give him due credit, remained calm. He only said, "How did you find me out?"

"A few things. As you know, Umbrella keeps blood samples from a number of its various employees, and on a whim, I began testing them for the magic genes, using the samples I obtained from both Henry and Sirius Black for comparison. Spencer had a few magicals working under him, and he never noticed. However, I also noticed a surprising amount of correlation between your DNA and that of Sirius. Only enough to denote distant relation, but astonishing all the same. Sirius, at my behest, actually subjected the blood sample to what is known as an inheritance test, showing relations with a special potion and spell. That is part of how we discovered your true name. The rest was detective work and inference, as well as using Legilimency on Spencer while he is unconscious. That is how I found out about your mother using a Patronus and Fiendfyre."

After a moment spent digesting this, Trent asked, "What do you intend to do with me?"

"That depends on you. I am sure you wanted revenge on Spencer for what he did to your parents. Sadly, Lisa Trevor has, as they say in that rather vulgar Americanism, 'dibs'. And while I can surmise that you wanted Umbrella to come crashing down around us, sadly, I have plans for Umbrella, plans that do not involve its destruction…but its evolution."

"I will listen. That is all I will promise you."

And so he did, as Alexia outlined, at least in part, her plans for Umbrella to move away from bioweapons. As Trent's parents had been advocates for developing Progenitor in ways to help humanity, she emphasised her intentions of using Sentinel in a philanthropic manner.

Eventually, when she had finished, he asked, "What do you intend to do with me, then?"

"Simple. I know you have unearthed secrets about the prominent figures in Umbrella, particularly the American branch. You are a spy in everything but name already. I do not trust Albert Wesker, and I certainly do not trust William Birkin. Their egos, you see, are comparable to mine, though their self-restraint is not. But you, Trent, you are trusted in Umbrella, even though you were working for its destruction. All I ask is that you act as my eyes and ears in Umbrella's American interests, particularly in Raccoon City. As I said, I do not trust Albert Wesker or William Birkin. But you, I can trust, especially as I have leverage over you. However, I will not expose you on a whim, as long as you cooperate. All I ask is that you change your goal from seeing Umbrella's destruction, to seeing it evolve into something your parents would have been proud of."

Trent straightened his tie. "It's not like I have much of a choice. If you are sincere about changing Umbrella for the better, then I will help you. But on sufferance. Should you show any sign of ending up like Spencer or his diseased ilk, I will go against you, consequences be damned!"

"That's the spirit," Alexia said with a smile. "Lisa, would you mind if Trent shares in your vengeance?"

After a moment's consideration, Lisa nodded. "If he is willing."

"What did you have in mind?" Trent asked.

Alexia went over to a vial containing a purple substance, and set out three syringes. She began filling them. "Did you ever learn of what happened to my brother, Trent?"

"I suspected that he was the first test subject of T-Veronica," Trent said. A sudden guttural roar echoed through the air, and the man flinched, despite himself.

"He was. You just heard him. Which means that silencing charm I erected has faded. Damnable thing should last longer! In any case, because the mutation was rushed, instead of bleeding flammable blood, he bleeds a poisonous substance with an LD50 comparable to ricin(1). I have developed an antidote, but I have not tested the effects of the poison on anything but laboratory animals. However, we have a couple of subjects right here. The process is very painful, and protracted, even with increased doses. While this is not truly scientific, more of a means for Lisa and yourself to gain revenge, and for me to eliminate my worst enemies, I hope to gain some useful data from their poisoning. Ah, they are waking up."

Sergei came to awareness first, and began struggling against the magically-enhanced bonds, snarling Russian expletives. "Do you kiss your mother with such an excremental mouth, Sergei?" Alexia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My mother is dead," the gigantic Russian growled. "And when I get free, you will join her in the grave!"

"Sadly, the only way you will get free is when _you_ are dead, Sergei," Alexia said. "I am not an imbecile. I considered turning you and Spencer into BOWs, in an act of calculated irony. But that would be risking you getting powerful enough to break free. Especially as you, Sergei, are the template on which the Tyrants are based. I simply cannot risk injecting you with any of the viruses Umbrella have been developing, just in case."

Sergei looked at her, before a bitter bark of laughter emitted from his mouth. "And here I thought that it was that _ubljúdok_ Albert Wesker or his snivelling little _čudák_ friend William Birkin who would betray us," Sergei said. "I should have paid more attention to you, Tsarina Alexia." That had been his sarcastic nickname for Alexia. But there was also an extremely grudging respect in the man's tone when he used the title. "Especially once you obtained your surrogate son. A she-wolf is never more dangerous when she has young to protect."

"So you understand, then?"

Sergei laughed bitterly once more. "I am not blind. What I could gather from Rockfort, and what action you took against your own brother, suggested you are willing to do much for your adopted son. I presume that was part of the reason for your takeover bid?"

"Of course," Alexia said. "I have also had a revelation of sorts about how Umbrella is being led. I would prefer a more pragmatic approach. For the assured future of my son."

"So…that's why you betrayed me?" Spencer rasped, having regained consciousness by this point, and having listened in. "Because you became attached to Harry?"

"Amongst other things, Spencer. I know that, in the end, you would have betrayed me. You had Doctor Marcus killed, after all. You are hurrying Umbrella through all sorts of weapons creation, while trying to create the ultimate life-form, and wishing to become a god. But I have become, if not a god, then fairly close to one. I share only with those whom I wish to share, and certainly not with you. Because you cannot share godhood. You never would. You would sooner raze the world and rule over the ashes, whereas I would prefer to have a more healthy, livelier world to live in. Look right there. See her? Do you recognise her? She recognises you," Alexia said, as Lisa Trevor loomed over Spencer.

"Should I recognise her?" Spencer asked.

"You had my father and mother killed after my father built your damned mansion for you in the Arklay Mountains," Lisa growled. "You had your scientists turn me into a monster!"

Spencer's eyes widened in revelation. "Lisa Trevor?! But…how…how can this be? How can you be like this?"

"Alexia gave me this gift, in exchange for a boon. That I would be the one to take revenge on you." Her eyes met those of Trent. "I'm willing to share that revenge, though."

Spencer's eyes widened when Trent appeared. "Trent? You'd betray me too?"

"You betrayed me first, Spencer. You may not recognise me, I had quite a bit of plastic surgery done. But maybe you recognise my birth name: Victor Darius."

"Darius?!" Spencer's eyes widened again, then narrowed. "You…your bitch of a mother…she ruined my plans!"

"You forced her to take her own life, and forced me to go into hiding," Trent said coldly. "How many lives have you ruined in your pursuit of power and godhood, Spencer? People that you had murdered, or turned into experiments?"

"I would do it all over again!" Spencer snarled. "The right to be God is mine, and MINE ALONE!"

"I think he has said enough," Alexia said quietly, before handing Trent and Lisa a syringe each, filled with the purple liquid. She took a third for herself. Trent and Lisa injected Spencer, while Alexia injected Sergei.

"I will not scream for mercy," Sergei promised Alexia. "I may scream in pain towards the end, but I will be damned before I scream for your mercy."

"That is fortunate, for I have none for the pair of you," Alexia said.

"Ha! You are like General Winter, cold and merciless!" Sergei said with a mixture of admiration and fury. "All things die, Tsarina Alexia, and I will make sure to keep a place in Hell ready for you!"

"Alexia, stop this! I know you have the antidote! This is the poison your brother produces, right?" Spencer demanded. "I'll give you anything you want. Anything!"

"You do not have anything I want. Not anymore," Alexia said coldly.

"Please! Trevor, Trent, I'll give you anything if you'll save me from this crazy bitch!"

"Money?" Lisa asked.

"Power?" Trent asked.

"Yes, anything you want!"

"We want our families back, you son of a bitch," Lisa said coldly(2).

"I…I can't give you those!"

"Then you have nothing we want," Trent said. "Goodbye, Spencer. It has _not_ been a pleasure."

The ends of Spencer and Sergei Vladimir were long and protracted. And Sergei, although he roared in pain as the poison killed him slowly, never screamed for mercy. Alexia would have been disappointed if he had. But Spencer died screaming for mercy, voiding his bladder and bowels in fright and pain, dying without dignity. A fitting end for a monstrous man, who had simply disappeared from the world.

Now, the biggest obstacles in Alexia's way had been removed. The others were now manageable. The Ashford family, once more, was in the ascendant in Umbrella. And while Alexia wouldn't go so far as to say nothing could stop her now, just in case that tempted fate, she also knew that her position was becoming more assured. And with that, so was Henry's…

 **CHAPTER 16 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Holy shit. What a doozy, eh? Spencer and Sergei Vladimir are dead. And Alexia has herself a new ally, albeit of convenience.**

 **Now, for those of you not in the know, Trent (real name: Victor Darius) is a character created by SD Perry for her novelizations of the** ** _Resident Evil_** **games. Trent is a mysterious figure working for Umbrella who pulls the strings from behind the scenes to help key characters: namely Jill Valentine during the events of the original** ** _Resident Evil_** **and Carlos Oliviera in** ** _Resident Evil 3_** **. He also hires Ada Wong for the events of** ** _Resident Evil 2_** **, and is in charge of Wesker during the events of** ** _Code Veronica_** **. And while I wasn't going to bring him in in the same way as he did into the events of the games, I thought he might be an interesting character to bring into this story, albeit with a modified backstory. In fact, when I looked him up on the Resident Evil Wiki to refresh my memory, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his mother's name was Helen Black in the novels, with such serendipity strengthening my resolve to bring him in. He'll still be very wary of helping out Alexia, and with good reason. But he'll be a key ally of Alexia, and thus of Harry, especially when the sequel is made. Plus, I wanted to get another male member to Alexia's allies, one from outside of Harry Potter canon. Trent may be non-canonical to the games, but he is canonical to this story.**

 **Incidentally, I will wrap up this story after the events of** ** _The Goblet of Fire_** **are over. I've decided that there will be at least two, if not three sequels. The first sequel will cover at least the events of** ** _Resident Evil_** **and** ** _Resident Evil 0_** **. The second sequel (assuming I don't cover it in the events of the first sequel) will cover the events of** ** _Resident Evil 2_** **and** ** _3_** **. The third sequel will cover the events of** ** _Resident Evil 4_** **.**

 **Review-answering time!** **tamagat** **: I haven't seen either** ** _Degeneration_** **or** ** _Damnation_** **. You'll have to wait and see whether anyone gets added.**

 **Have a Little Feith** **:** ** _Biohazard_** **is, indeed, a better name for the series. I think it was changed to avoid copyright issues.**

 **Emperor Vanquest** **: Harry isn't going to be bi. His clinical nature and detachment is more due to his mother's influence. But he enjoys having Hermione as an intellectual sounding-board. Same for Luna. He will grow to love them fully, it's just an odd kind of love. That being said, there will be a bi character...**

 **1\. The term 'LD50' means the lethal dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. It's also known as the 'median lethal dose'. Ricin is one of the most lethal substances known, perhaps notoriously being used in the assassination of Georgi Markov, who had a small pellet containing ricin shot into his leg by an air-gun concealed in an umbrella. I am not making that up!**

 **2\. Another moment in my fanfic where I have alluded to that scene with Inigo Montoya and Count Rugen in** ** _The Princess Bride_** **.**


	19. Chapter 17: The Second Task

**CHAPTER 17:**

 **THE SECOND TASK**

When Hermione disappeared the morning of the Second Task, Henry knew that his suspicions were correct. They had taken hostages, and if they had been so stupid as to be serious about that rhyme, about Hermione being gone forever once the hour was up…well, there'd be hell to pay.

As it was, he was feeling confident. He had tested Gillyweed at Rockfort, using a water tank, and managed to test its properties. At least Sentinel made him resistant to drowning when the Gillyweed wore off. But after taking Gillyweed for the first time, something strange happened. He found that he could trigger the transformation at will, and maintain it indefinitely. His mother had checked his blood and analysed the Gillyweed he had set aside for her to analyse, and found that his body had adapted, allowing him to transform at will in the same way that Veronica had its own transformations. She speculated that this was due to the chemicals in Gillyweed, as well as Veronica and the G-Virus interacting.

However it happened, Henry was on the warpath. But as he prepared to head to the Black Lake, he suddenly heard a voice through the mental link. _Henry? Can you hear me?_

 _Hermione! What have they done to you?!_

 _Calm down, Henry. I'm fine. More or less. Technically, I'm in a magical sleep, but I managed to get back on the phone, so to speak. They only put that stuff about the hour limit to ensure you got to us in time. That idiot Bagman used it as a scare tactic. Dumbledore's making sure we won't stay down there. The merpeople will bring any of us left back up._

 _That's going to be small consolation for the others. Who else is down there?_

 _I don't know who Viktor's hostage is, one of the girls from Durmstrang. I think he went with Ginny as a pity date to the Yule Ball. Cho's down here for Cedric, and for Fleur…Henry, they've got her sister. And I know poor Fleur will be in hysterics if she can't get to Gabrielle in time. Henry, the merpeople are skittish around me. I think that, like what Alexia said about dragons, merpeople are some sort of mutation caused by Progenitor. I think they can sense the Sentinel Virus inside me_.

Henry scowled as he got to the edge of the Black Lake, where stands had been set up. It was about half an hour until the Task began. Krum looked calm, and when Cedric came out from changing into a swimsuit, he looked calm too. Clearly, neither of them believed that the time limit was lethal. But poor Fleur, who was looking very attractive in a silvery one-piece swimsuit, was clearly afraid for her sister, dried tears evident on her face.

Henry went over to Fleur, who was pacing anxiously, and gestured her over. " _They've taken Gabrielle!_ " Fleur hissed in French. " _I've only got an hour to get her back, or she's gone forever!_ "

" _It's a scare tactic, Fleur. That bastard Bagman probably thought it be fun to give us incentive to rescue our hostages._ " He glared at the punch-drunk idiot, grinning away, seemingly uncaring about Fleur's distress, though he saw that Dumbledore and Maxime, at least, looked sorry for that. Karkaroff, he thought, looked like he enjoyed seeing Fleur weep, and Percy Weasley, standing in for Crouch, was indifferent.

" _But how can you know this?_ "

Henry tapped his temple. " _I have a mental link with Hermione. She explained this. If we fail, Dumbledore will have the merpeople bring up the hostages. And I don't think your Headmistress would allow this to happen if your sister's life was at stake._ "

" _I hope you are right_ ," Fleur said quietly, a little reassured by his words.

" _If I am not_ ," Henry said, glaring at Bagman once more, " _he will regret it_." In fact, already, Henry was considering doing things to Bagman that would have his mother scolding him for forgetting his deportment. Of course, he found out from the Weasley twins that Bagman had made a bet with them on the outcome of the Quidditch World Cup, and when they won (and won a lot, on a bet that Ireland would win, but Bulgaria, through its Seeker, none other than Krum, would get the Golden Snitch), Bagman welched on the deal by giving them Leprechaun Gold, which had vanished overnight. Henry thought many of the pranks they made amusing, and when he heard about their ambitions to open up a joke shop in Diagon Alley, the premiere magical shopping enclave of England, he strongly considered investing in it, using the money from his 'Harry Potter' vault. He had no use for that, after all. His mother was now the CEO of Umbrella, after all, and practically undisputed ruler of Umbrella's European branch.

He went to change into his wetsuit in a nearby tent. After testing with Gillyweed, and the subsequent voluntary transformations, his mother obtained a wetsuit that wouldn't obscure his gills or hinder his fins. As it was designed by the military, and used by Umbrella's security forces, it had a utility belt, one of which would hold his wand. The other weapon he had was a diver's knife.

As he walked out, he looked at Dumbledore again. The old man hadn't tried to force Henry away from his mother again, which meant that his mother's Memory Charm, cast in haste, had worked. Dumbledore had to spend a few weeks in St Mungo's, the premiere hospital for magical illnesses, after the incident at the Yule Ball. McGonagall presided as Acting Headmaster in the meantime. But Henry knew that if the old man tried anything on him now, Henry would be sure to make him regret it.

Rita Skeeter had been declared missing shortly after the Yule Ball, but a couple of weeks ago, she turned up naked in Diagon Alley, unable to remember the past few months, her Animagus ability (which only she and a few select others knew about anyway), and her toilet training. Her current stay in St Mungo's had cured the latter, last time Henry heard.

He looked over at Fleur. In French, he asked, " _Do you want to stick together, in case these idiots aren't bluffing?_ "

After a moment, the distressed part-Veela nodded. " _I can look after myself, but two wands are better than one. Do you have a means of breathing underwater?_ "

" _Yes. You?_ "

She nodded, before glaring at the fatuously smiling Bagman. " _Once this is over, I am going to see how well HE can breathe underwater, without any spells or potions._ "

" _Can I help hold him under?_ "

Fleur laughed nervously, despite herself. Cedric and Krum looked over at them. All too soon, the signal was given, and the four Champions set off into the freezing waters of the Black Lake…

* * *

Alexia would have been there, but sadly, becoming the CEO of a vast corporate empire had its little trials and travails. Especially when it was full of its petty little fiefdoms. It was like dealing with squabbling little children. Taking over the world by force using Veronica was beginning to look more desirable. It can't have been any harder than this.

Still, inspecting the Spencer Mansion laboratory was interesting, plus it was something she needed to do, to ensure that safety measures were increased. She looked at the grotesque form floating in the tank, a massive, humanoid form with an oversized heart grafted onto its chest, its right hand ending in long, vicious claws. You could see, vaguely, the features of Sergei Vladimir in the face. It was the face of the Tyrant.

It was very much a relic of Spencer's mentality in running Umbrella. Create weapons, without any regard as to whether they were as much a danger to you as they were to your enemies. Even when ruling from the shadows, use a bludgeon, not a subtle scalpel. The bludgeon had its place, but it was so _inelegant_ , so lacking in subtlety.

William Birkin was glaring at Alexia. "How does it feel to be Empress of all you survey?" Birkin asked.

"Troublesome. It is like being in charge of a kindergarten for 'gifted' children where they are given access to a biohazard lab," Alexia said.

Birkin actually laughed at that. "So, not all sunshine and lollipops, then?"

"I never thought it would be," Alexia said coldly. "And Lisa, kindly restrain yourself."

The tall woman looked like she could barely restrain herself from snapping Birkin's neck. He had, after all, been one of the architects of her torment. He didn't help by calling Lisa 'Alexia's pet' or 'the dyke Tyrant' barely under his breath. Wrong on both counts: Lisa had actually begun a relationship with Remus Lupin. They both knew what it was like, after all, to be trapped in monstrous forms against their will. And Alexia didn't consider Lisa to be a pet, either. Not a friend, but certainly a trusted associate, perhaps even an adopted sister. Helping Lisa get revenge on Spencer helped cement Lisa's loyalty to Alexia.

The rather harried-looking Annette Birkin was present as well. Both Annette and William worked in the secret Umbrella lab hidden underground at the outskirts of Raccoon, but they were asked to be present here. Albert was not here, as he was working elsewhere in the intelligence department. Annette said, "These increased biosecurity measures are expensive."

"If I recall, Annette, you have been asking for them for some time, and with little success under the prior administration," Alexia said.

"I did. I just resigned myself not to have them being put into place," Annette said. "I just worried, what if something got out, and something happened to Sherry?"

"Nothing would happen to Sherry," William said soothingly. "And in any case, Umbrella's safety procedures are amongst the best against biological accidents in the world. Only an act of malice could breach them."

"I beg to differ," Alexia said. "I agree that it would be more likely an act of malice rather than an accident that would cause an outbreak of the T-Virus, but I would rather reduce the chances of either occurring to as close to nil as possible. And do not forget the G-Virus, William. I have studied the papers you have written on its effects. The regenerative powers of G are impressive, but they can easily run rampant with catastrophic damage. I would not be surprised if an infectee eventually degenerated into a massive blob. That is one of the reasons I am also ensuring that research is accelerated into the improvement and production of 'Devil', the T and G-Virus vaccine. The bioweapon wing of Umbrella is going to be, if not phased out completely, then restructured in favour of bioweapon defence and pharmaceutical applications. Bioweapons will still be researched and developed, of course, but we will be taking a different direction to how Spencer wanted it to be done."

"I don't think they'll let you do that," William said, meaning Umbrella's American branch, and his superiors.

"They will have little say in the matter, though the process will take some time," Alexia said. "Tightening up safety procedures in our laboratories will take priority."

Speaking of safety, she wondered how Henry was doing. She'd call him, but she didn't want to break his concentration on whatever he was doing…

* * *

Henry and Fleur's heads broke the surface at almost the same time, their hostages with them. Gabrielle and Hermione opened their eyes at the same time. The young part-Veela asked, scared, " _Fleur? Are you all right?_ "

Fleur nodded. " _You're safe now, Gabrielle._ "

Henry, meanwhile undid the Gillyweed transformation he did as he helped Hermione to the shore. He had helped Fleur fend off Grindylows in the water, and had used his mental link with Hermione to pinpoint her location. And like Hermione had suggested, the merpeople were actually frightened of Henry, presumably because he stank of something like Progenitor.

As he scrambled onto the shore, helping Hermione out of the water, he noted that Bagman was beaming, Percy looked a little relieved, and Dumbledore and Maxime looked a lot relieved. Karkaroff was glaring at Henry and Fleur for having the audacity to beat Krum.

As Bagman approached, Henry glared at him. "That was a cruel trick, to claim that we would lose these people forever."

"It was just incentive, old chap!" Bagman said, only slightly nervous. "Anyway, aren't you cold?"

Henry merely glared. Inwardly, he was thinking, _I will make sure you wish for the cold. Give a man a fire, and he's warm for a whole day. Set a man on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life(_ _1)_. An image of Henry splashing his blood all over Bagman and watching as the punch-drunk moron burst into flames was highly appealing. Hermione even chuckled a little at that when it leaked over their mental link: she had no love for the former Quidditch star.

 _Hermione, are you okay?_ Henry asked.

 _I'm fine, just a little cold_. Then, suddenly, the girl embraced him, kissing him deeply. _Thank you, thank you, Henry! I know it wasn't as dangerous as you were led to believe, but even so, I didn't like it!_

 _Uhh, you're welcome?_ This was the first time they kissed after all, and the applause from that was louder than when they had emerged. And he realised, consciously, that he could smell her, feel her thoughts, and realised that their bond, while he knew it was present, had strengthened, and he didn't notice.

And it was pleasant, he had to give it that. So he kissed her back, not really mindful of the audience watching on…

 **CHAPTER 17 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **The next chapter will have Harry stumbling across Barty Crouch Senior…and then the house of cards will wobble.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Kmon13** **: Albert and William will be left alone for now, but they, along with the rest of the Birkins, will play a role in the sequels.**

 **Space King Wizard Duck** **: Because the S-Virus and Veronica have integrated with Harry's cells, there's no chance of Voldemort being infected. That being said…well, wait until the next few chapters…**

 **1\. This was a quote from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel** ** _Jingo_** **. As this part of the story is set before** ** _Jingo_** **'s publication in 1997, just chalk it up to Harry's darker tendencies, including his sense of humour.**


	20. Chapter 18: Method in Madness

**CHAPTER 18:**

 **METHOD IN MADNESS**

One night, much later, they had been shown the setting for the Third Task, the last one. A special hedge maze was being grown on the Quidditch Pitch, and according to Bagman, it would be filled with obstacles. Henry would go in first, as he currently had the most points, but given the obstacles, it was still anyone's game as to who won.

Henry noted that Bagman looked even more nervous than usual. Which was good. After the debacle of the Second Task, Henry and Alexia had discreetly contacted Gringotts to find out about Bagman's finances if possible. As it turned out, the man had a gambling addiction, and owed money to many, including Goblin moneylenders. Alexia thus offered the Goblins a deal: if the Goblins were willing to look the other way, either she or Henry would use Legilimency to determine if he had any money ferreted away. Alexia and Henry had practised their Legilimency quite a bit in the wake of Dumbledore attempting to use it on Alexia at the Yule Ball. Bagman had bet with the Goblins that Henry would win the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and while Henry was a little tempted to throw the Tournament out of spite towards the idiot, his pride dictated that he do nothing of the sort.

Henry used Legilimency, and discovered that the idiot did have some substantial caches of money stashed away. Just enough to cover his debt to the Goblins at least, but he actually intended to flee the country if things went sour, though his plans seemed rather badly thought out. Henry sent the locations to Alexia via mental link.

Henry had no qualms about using Legilimency, or at least not either on people like Bagman, or else in an emergency. On friends and people he had no quarrel with, he wouldn't use it, unless it was an absolute emergency.

Afterwards, Henry was walking towards the Forbidden Forest (despite the fact that it was night-time), deep in thought. It had been months now since he was first brought to Hogwarts forcibly by the Goblet of Fire. And they were still no closer to finding out who put his name into the Goblet of Fire. Alexia had narrowed down a list of suspects, but even she was worried about using Legilimency on people left, right, and centre, in case they were noticed. Bagman was not responsible for what had happened, though, judging by his memories. He was just being opportunistic.

But who would want him in this Tournament, and why? The answer wasn't just going to come out of nowhere.

Or at least that's what he thought.

From the trees nearby, a figure lurched out. It took a moment for Henry to recognise the dishevelled man, but it was none other than Barty Crouch Senior. He looked like he had been travelling for days, his face scratched, his robes tattered, his hair wild and ungroomed, a stark contrast to what he had been earlier. He now reminded Henry a little of the 'It's Man' from the beginning of most episodes of _Monty Python's Flying Circus_. Crouch was staggering and muttering strangely about arranging for the visit of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. He then collapsed to the ground, Henry rushing over to him.

"Dumbledore…need to see…Dumbledore…" Crouch rasped, seemingly mad. "Done…stupid thing…must…see…Dumbledore…"

Henry frowned. He didn't know why, but something was up. Crouch was acting like he had gone mad, and yet…some instinct made Henry pluck out his wand. And then, his next words caused Henry to consider doing what he intended to do.

"Escaped…must warn…see Dumbledore…my fault…Bertha dead…my son…Dark Lord…stronger…Harry Potter…"

Henry realised that there was something to this. The man did look like an escapee from somewhere, and his words, while they could be considered the result of delirium, struck a chord. Biting his lip, he said quietly, "My apologies. _Legilimens_."

* * *

Crouch's mindscape was a fractured mess, memories and images everywhere, like a shattering mirror frozen in time. The first memories Henry saw were of the time when Crouch was the head of the DMLE. Of the trials he presided over, including one where he ruthlessly sent his own son to Azkaban, along with the Lestranges. Then, memories of smuggling his son out of Azkaban, putting his wife in his place at her request. She was terminally ill. And he kept his son, Barty Crouch Junior, under the Imperius Curse, and under Invisibility Cloaks, at his home.

More memories flashed by, but Henry paid them little mind. He needed to find something else. Something more recent. Then, flashes of how Bertha Jorkins discovered Barty Junior, and Crouch Obliviating her. The Qudditch World Cup, and Barty Junior stealing a wand to cast the Dark Mark after breaking free of control. Then, the arrival of Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew. The freeing of Barty Junior, and Barty Junior pledging himself to Voldemort's service once more. The use of the Imperius. The plan Barty Junior, Voldemort, and Pettigrew made. The knowledge that…

That…

Henry paled when he realised it. _Barty Crouch Junior was in Hogwarts. He was disguised as Mad-Eye Moody_.

* * *

He broke off the connection and stared. So, this was what the whole thing was about. He digested the information he had lifted from Crouch's mind. Voldemort was embarking on a convoluted plan to resurrect himself using Henry's blood as part of a ritual. Of course, the ritual relied on Henry being at bay for much of the year, hence the Tri-Wizard Tournament(1).

Henry actually felt a little disgusted at this man's hypocrisy. He had sent Sirius to Azkaban with no trial. He had winkled his son out of Azkaban and used the Imperius, one of the Unforgivable Curses, on him. And yet, this man was so self-righteous, it was disgusting.

Still, he needed to notify Dumbledore. He swiftly rushed off.

* * *

When he got to the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's Office, he scowled. "If you can let Dumbledore know, there is an emergency! I found Barty Crouch Senior in the grounds!"

The gargoyle didn't move, at least not at first. Eventually, it moved aside to reveal Snape. "Ashford, what's the matter?" Snape scowled.

"I found Barty Crouch Senior in the grounds, sir! At the edge of the Forbidden Forest! He was delirious, but he also wanted an audience with Professor Dumbledore!"

Snape's eyes narrowed, before he nodded curtly. "Stay here. Dumbledore is busy, but I will let him know." He swept back up the stairs leading to the Headmaster's Office. Eventually, Dumbledore emerged, and without preamble, had Henry lead the way to where Crouch was.

Except Crouch wasn't there anymore. The two searched, but the man had gone missing. And after casting a few spells, Dumbledore confirmed that someone had been there until recently. He sent a Patronus to Hagrid, while Moody…or rather, his impostor, arrived shortly thereafter. Henry schooled his expression.

Dumbledore sent Moody off to investigate and try and track Crouch, and sent Hagrid and Fang to try and do the same thing. Meanwhile, Henry wondered what he should tell Dumbledore. Should he tell him anything? After a moment, Henry decided not to tell him what he had discerned through Legilimency, lest he get censured for it. Instead, he stuck to what Crouch had babbled, and had asked questions about Crouch's history.

What Dumbledore had to say only served to confirm what Henry had seen in the man's memories. After all that palaver, though, Crouch was still missing, and Henry was sent back to bed in the guest rooms.

* * *

That night, instead of dreaming, Henry spoke to his mother over the mental link, though this time, they were in Alexia's mental landscape, the very mindscape where she taught him everything while they were in stasis for the first time, adapting to T-Veronica. They were seated in the same throne room as Dumbledore had seen during his sojourn into Alexia's mind. He told her everything. The two of them were in their Veronica forms.

"So, Moody is the culprit, or rather, Barty Crouch Junior is, in disguise as Moody," Alexia said. "The hand of the enemy has been revealed to us. And with that, their folly as well. Because the S-Virus has already run its infection to its conclusion, it no longer contains the virions of Sentinel, and it cannot enhance him, though that does not seem to be his intent. And it will not harm him. However, there is another factor at play. I do not know how Voldemort became immortal, but clearly it was potent enough to allow him to survive in a disembodied state after his original attempt to murder you. Killing him may only reduce him once more to such a state, allowing him to rise again. But I had a thought on how to defeat him: cryostasis. Technically, it does not kill you. We can simply imprison him in one of the cryostasis capsules."

"But how do we get him into one of them in the first place?" Henry asked.

"I have a plan," Alexia said with a smile. "But at the same time, I need him weakened enough so that we can get him into stasis. And seeing since they are so eager to have your blood, Henry, I think we should give it to them."

Henry smiled. "With an extra added?"

"Indeed. Not anything that will kill him per se, but certainly something that will make him regret ever considering harming my son," Alexia said. "They say that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but that is paltry compared to the wrath of a mother protecting their child. Sergei, at least, recognised that in the end." She reclined back in her throne. "After Voldemort and this farce of a Tournament have been dealt with, I think it is time we withdrew from the wizarding world. I have been in correspondence with the authorities regulating the education of Magical Britain, and I have found that Hermione and Luna can actually study for their OWLs and NEWTs outside of Hogwarts. Sirius and Remus can help with that. Meanwhile, I intend to shape those two girls into my protégés. I will have to find a way to withdraw them both from Hogwarts. Their full potential is wasted in Magical Britain. So too is that of Sirius and Remus. One is a framed fugitive, the other a werewolf that nobody even tries to treat beyond a suppressing potion. And Remus is treated with more contempt than AIDS sufferers! I even tested him in the light of the real full moon. All it did was make him feel very uncomfortable and on-edge now. He can suppress the transformation with relative ease. I am considering developing a medication to supplement that. But in any case, we had better start preparing for your confrontation."

"I shall let you get on with preparing an appropriate booby-trap, mother," Henry said, his smile widening. "With Voldemort as the booby."

"And we shall have you practise manipulating organic matter, Henry," Alexia said. "That is one element of Veronica and thus Sentinel we are yet to practise, and I am sure you will find that useful…"

* * *

Barty Crouch Junior was anxious. He hadn't expected his father to escape the custody of Voldemort and make it to Hogwarts, nor had he expected Harry Potter (even if he went by another name thanks to that Muggle bitch) to stumble across him. Thankfully, he had killed his father (having wanted to do so for a very long time), transfigured him into a bone, and buried him as deep as he could.

As far as he knew, his father hadn't been able to tell Harry anything. Or at least nothing coherent. Still, there was that nagging suspicion, what the real Moody would have called 'Constant Vigilance'. And given that the full extent of the boy's powers were still unknown, he had to be cautious.

Voldemort had dismissed concerns that Harry's blood seemed to be highly flammable. He had thought of a countermeasure for that for when the ritual began. In fact, it was Voldemort's ardent belief that taking Harry's blood into him would grant him the same powers.

Barty wasn't so sure. In what few communications he had been able to have with his master, he gave him what little intelligence he knew of Umbrella and T-Veronica. But his master was still set on this ceremony. Instead of, really, killing the boy and his mother, and finding another way to restore his body to its former glory.

Barty Crouch Junior was a loyal Death Eater, he really was. But there were times when he had to wonder what his master was smoking at this point in time. Then again, Voldemort was being basically fed on snake venom and other bizarre ingredients.

Barty decided that he would spend some time, after drinking his next dose of Polyjuice Potion, having a nice pull of Firewhiskey. It may not have been something Moody would have done, but he needed a Merlin-damned drink…

 **CHAPTER 18 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Downhill run now. I'm ending this fanfic soon.**

 **Review-answering time! Thanks for the praise for how I handled this crossover.**

 **tamagat** **: In the sequel, possibly. Alex Wesker got the same virus, after all…**

 **Joe Fenton** **: It is interesting to have 'villain' protagonists, though my version of Alexia is more complex than a mere villain. As for the** ** _Jingo_** **quote, I didn't know it was used before then.**

 **1\. I think this was mentioned in** ** _A Marauder's Plan_** **by CatsAreCool.**


	21. Chapter 19: The Final Malformation of V

**CHAPTER 19:**

 **THE FINAL MALFORMATION OF 'V'**

 _So…let's take stock_ , Henry thought as he watched the short form of Peter Pettigrew drag a massive stone cauldron across the ground. _I am tied up to the tombstone of one 'Tom Riddle' in the middle of a graveyard. I have an overly large snake slithering around me, presumably Voldemort's familiar, and this impudent coward wants to take my blood in order to give his master, who would make the top ten ugliest babies in the world list at the moment, a new body_.

Henry sighed. The Third Task had been simple enough, going through a maze notwithstanding. He had to confront a Boggart (which had turned into his mother as a massive monster, like a bloated Queen Ant(1)), a Sphinx, as well as stopping Krum from attacking Fleur and Cedric. Krum, he soon realised, wouldn't have done that, and he guessed Crouch Junior used the Imperius.

Eventually, he reached the Tri-Wizard Cup. Cedric wasn't far behind, but Henry snatched up the Cup, actually a Portkey, first, knowing that if Cedric went with him, he might be in danger.

Still, at least he had injected himself with the special virus Alexia cooked up, and he had that item with him. Of course, the rest was up to him.

Eventually, he asked, "My apologies for being rather impatient, but is this going to take all night?"

A high, cold voice laughed as Pettigrew began filling the cauldron with ingredients. It came from the baby-like thing that was currently housing Voldemort. "Believe me, Harry Potter, I am as impatient as you are."

"I can imagine," Henry said. "And my name is Henry Ashford. It's all right, it is a common mistake, everyone seems to make it when they think they know me." Remembering what his mother had told him, Henry said, "I mean, you would prefer to be known as Lord Voldemort, rather than Tom Marvolo Riddle. I shall do you the courtesy of referring to you by your chosen name, sir, as long as you do me the courtesy of referring to me by mine."

"I don't care for the adopted name that impudent magic-stealing Muggle gave you," Voldemort retorted.

"She is my mother, sir. She is Lady Alexia Ashford."

"Oh? No praise for your real parents? I could say that they were cowards…but that would be a lie. They were brave, with Lily begging me to spare your life, in exchange for her own. Would you spit on their sacrifices?"

"Of course not. They loved me, by all accounts, and I would like to think that they still would if they were alive. But I never really knew them, especially as you took them from me." Henry favoured Voldemort with a glare. "Even so, I gained a new mother in their stead, one whose magnificence eclipses all others. I may not be a child of her blood, but I am a child of her heart and mind. And she inspires more fear and awe in me, not to mention love and adoration, than you ever would in your followers."

Voldemort laughed jeeringly. "Well, you have spirit if nothing else."

"It is ready, master," Pettigrew said quietly.

"Now…" Voldemort rasped, and Pettigrew picked up the frail, grotesque thing that Voldemort was, and gently dropped his master into the liquid within the cauldron. Having breathed breathable liquid in cryostasis, Henry knew better than to assume Voldemort drowned.

Pettigrew gathered himself, and then chanted, " _Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!_ " With a wave of his wand, the grave in front of Henry burst open, and dust, presumably from old bone, rose into the air and dropped into the cauldron.

Pettigrew seemed to steel himself even more, removing a long, thin dagger from his robes. Hesitantly, sobbing as he did so, he said, " _Flesh…of the servant…w-willingly given…you will…revive…your master._ "

Henry stared as the man severed his own hand with a scream of agony, before dropping the hand into the cauldron. After a moment, Henry remarked, "Would you like to cauterise that before you continue? I mean, so that you avoid bleeding to death?"

Pettigrew ignored Henry, staggering up to the captive teenager, before jabbing the knife into Henry's arm. " _Bl-blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will…resurrect your foe._ " The dagger felt strangely cold, as did the vial Pettigrew fumbled for and used to catch drops of his blood. The blood didn't burst into flames, and Henry realised they must have found some sort of countermeasure. Pettigrew then staggered back to the cauldron, and dropped the blood in, causing sparks to fly, and then a great billowing cloud of steam to rise forth, obscuring the area.

Deciding that he had played along with this enough, he triggered his transformation into his first stage mutation, his clothes and the ropes binding him burning, only a small bag, warded against fire and intense heat, remaining intact. He had put his wand into that bag before snatching up the Cup. He now extracted the wand, along with another item: a ring he now put onto his hand.

As he rose, so did a figure out of the steam, tall and skeletally thin, stepping out of the cauldron. "Robe me, Wormtail," he commanded, and Pettigrew hastened to obey, using the very robes he had carried his master in.

Henry finally came face to face with the man who murdered his birth parents, the man who wanted to dominate Magical Britain. He had to admit, Voldemort looked somewhat impressive. There were a few BOWs who looked less intimidating than Voldemort. The man had an ophidian face, flat and snake-like, no nose, just two nostrils, a pair of red eyes with slitted pupils, the skin whiter than a bleached skull. He caressed his head, examining his body, his face a study in wonder and rapture at his own perverse rebirth. And then, he looked at Henry.

Voldemort was a bit bemused by Henry having broken free. "I see…so this is the strange power you demonstrated during the First Task," Voldemort noted. "The power of the T-Veronica virus. A power which I now share."

"I do not think biology works like that," Henry said. "Apropos of nothing, your underling seems to be bleeding to death. Given that he betrayed my parents, I find myself not caring that much, but I thought you might."

Voldemort looked at Pettigrew, before sneering. "You came back to me, not out of loyalty, but because you were afraid of your old friends. You deserve this pain, don't you?" As Pettigrew whimpered, Voldemort sighed. "Be thankful that Harry Potter has brought your self-inflicted plight to my attention. Worthless and treacherous though you were, you have returned me to my body…and so…a reward is in order." He cast a spell, and silver seemed to coalesce around Pettigrew's stump, forming an artificial hand of silver. As Pettigrew began whimpering his gratitude, Voldemort said, "Your other arm now, Wormtail. May your loyalty never waver again."

As Voldemort pressed his wand to the tattoo Pettigrew proffered, Henry began to concentrate. Yes, he could feel it. The special virus running through Voldemort's veins, dormant, awaiting a signal, but ready. A derivative of Progenitor, with enough of Veronica in it to allow Henry to control it, but not enough to give Voldemort the gifts of Veronica. It wasn't quite ready yet, though, and he needed to play for time. Neither was his other trump card, a demonstration of how Veronica, and thus Sentinel, could control and form organic matter at will. He needed time to form the organic matter into the shapes he needed.

"It is back," Voldemort remarked as the tattoo turned pitch black. "They will have noticed…and now we shall see…now we shall know…"

"How many of your minions will come crawling back to you, and how many will run like Cerberus was after them?" Henry remarked. "I must confess that I am curious. Do you want them to subdue me, or do you wish for an audience?"

"Why, the latter, of course! You need to be _seen_ to die, Harry Potter!" Voldemort then smiled, looking at Henry. "You stand upon the grave of my late father."

Henry looked down, and then stepped away. "My apologies."

"Don't bother apologising," Voldemort said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "He was a useless Muggle, and a fool. But he had his uses, like your mother, your birth mother. She gave her life for your own, and my father…I killed him. And he has proved his most useful when dead. Do you see that house upon the hillside? My father lived there. My mother was a witch who lived in this village, and fell in love with him, only to be abandoned when he realised what she was. My father didn't like magic. He left her and returned to his Muggle parents before I was even born, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a Muggle orphanage. But I vowed to find him, and revenge myself upon Tom Riddle. The fool who gave me his name." He scoffed as he paced. "Listen to me, reliving family history. I must be growing quite sentimental."

"I beg to differ. I think you are monologuing. I believe my mother takes medication for that," Henry said.

"Still you jest, and remain insolent, even in the face of your death. But hold, here comes my real family!"

And indeed, in they came, Apparating in. Men in black cloaks and masks. And then, Henry felt it. He knew the time had come. He waited until Voldemort had finished haranguing his erstwhile followers for their lack of loyalty, and elucidating his plan, and saying that without Dumbledore, Henry was powerless. He then turned to face Henry. "And here he is, waiting patiently to die. But it will be a long time before that happens. _Crucio!_ "

For a brief moment, the most intense pain filled Henry's soul. But the Veronica mutation made him resistant to the effects after a second. He then glared at Voldemort, even as pain still tingled through him. "Voldemort, I am curious. You can dish it out, but can you take it back?" With a gesture, he slashed open his palms with his fingernails, spraying his blood around. Voldemort emitted a brief, undignified shriek of pain as he beat out the flames on his hand, while a couple of unlucky Death Eaters went up in flames. "You said that without Dumbledore, I am powerless. You, sir, are sorely mistaken. Let me declare to you now, Voldemort, _I don't need Dumbledore_. You called my mother an impudent Muggle. In truth, you should be bowing to _her_."

Voldemort sneered. "I bow to no Muggle! But as we are about to duel, we should observe the niceties, and bow to each other."

As he did so, Henry stood tall, defiant. "I do not show courtesies to a man who shows me none, save for hollow ones."

"I never said refusal was an option. I said… _bow_."

Henry suddenly felt the Imperius curse hit him. But with a supreme effort of will, he reached out to the virus sleeting through Voldemort's veins…and forced him to stop. And then, Henry made Voldemort kneel. "What is this?!" Voldemort demanded.

"The instrument of your end," Henry said. "Created by an _impudent Muggle_. Even a Dark Lord can be brought low…by a _virus_. You think you know power, Voldemort." Suddenly, massive grey tentacles burst from the ground, derived from the soil and the corpses in the graveyard. Henry had spent time practising this on Rockfort once he and his mother had developed the plan, and with the time he had bought, he had formed them. "Kindly allow me to educate you on your folly." Then, the tentacles lashed out, while Henry began dashing amongst them, splashing the gathered Death Eaters with his blood. The massive snake familiar of Nagini went up in flames with a screech, black smoke purling from more than just the fire.

The Death Eaters fired spells desperately at the tentacles. Even the Killing Curse only stopped the tentacles temporarily, before Henry infused them with life and will once more. They were crushed, squeezed, and slammed into the ground by the massive tentacles, or set alight by Henry's blood. None had thought to Apparate away in their panic.

Voldemort very nearly did, until he began convulsing and juddering as the virus began running rampant through his system. Open sores gaped on his body. "What's happening?" he demanded, even as the last Death Eater fell.

"The T-Virus burns out the brain, normally, as does Progenitor. This derivative was designed to do certain things. Mainly, cause you enough brain damage to render you a vegetable, but still alive. We do not know how you ended up immortal, so we are ensuring that you do not die. Though this sort of immortality, you may not like. Maybe I might be able to use Legilimency to find out how you became immortal. Of course, it also put you under my control."

Voldemort's body twisted and distorted, becoming a hunched-over parody of itself, his body malforming. His red eyes were obscured by cataracts as Henry directed the course of the virus throughout the man's body, turning him into what was not unlike the zombies created by the T-Virus. With a moan of pain, Voldemort collapsed.

Henry approached, carefully. Then, he grabbed onto Voldemort, and said, quietly, " _Hall of Leto_." Then, the Portkey built into his ring activated. All that was left was the graveyard, littered with corpses. A silent testament to the battle that had just taken place. The irony was, it was the ingenuity of Muggles winning out over magic this day…

 **CHAPTER 19 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Next chapter is the epilogue. What a ride, huh? Hopefully, that ending wasn't too bad for you. I very nearly did one involving Hunters coming in on Portkeys, but then, I realised that that seemed a bit out of the blue, and I forgot that, in the games, Alexia could control these massive bloody tentacles at will. So this was simpler. I also almost forgot to put in the fate of Nagini.**

 **The chapter title is actually a reference to the titles of the boss battle themes from Resident Evil 2 whenever you fight Birkin. They're always called** ** _The (X) Malformation of 'G'_** **. I love** ** _The Second Malformation of 'G'_** **most of all. I remember one YouTube comment on that one, or** ** _The Third Malformation of 'G'_** **, saying that the music basically says "** ** _Where's your God now?!_** **"**

 **Review-answering time!** **whitedorumon** **: Keep in mind that Henry is more amoral, and hasn't really liked Crouch. And in any case, what can he do? He decided to go and find help, as nobody else was nearby.**

 **tamagat** **: We'll see with the sequels if Excella has a role to play.**

 **Noir117** **: We'll explore that in the sequel, but Alexia's managed to market, if not a cure, then a more effective treatment for lycanthropy.**

 **1\. This is, of course, Alexia's second form from** ** _Resident Evil: Code Veronica_** **. Henry's greatest fear is of his mother becoming a true monster.**


	22. Epilogue: Endings and Beginnings

**EPILOGUE:**

 **ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS**

 _Three years later_ …

Alexia Ashford bustled around her laboratory with some urgency. She rarely got enough time to do as much laboratory work as she would like to. Being the head of a multinational pharmaceuticals company that did bioweapons research on the side had its downside. She had to deal with a rather large group of squabbling and squalling infants, especially from Umbrella's American branch. The schism between Umbrella's European branch and the American branch reminded her of religious and political schisms throughout history. There were times when she wondered whether she should have given in to her earlier desire for conquest, to become the Queen Ant of humanity overtly than from the shadows.

It was July 1998, the 18th, to be precise. In about two weeks, Henry would be turning 18. He would be wed, officially, to Hermione on that day. Unofficially, both Hermione and Luna would be his consorts, in the same way that they were both Alexia's protégés. They were both equally brilliant, albeit in different ways. As Alexia had noted, Hermione was logical and methodical, while Luna was imaginative and intuitive. Their talent and potential would have been wasted in Magical Britain, and they had helped Alexia with creating new pharmaceuticals and vaccines for the public wings of Umbrella, as well as improving the bioweapon viruses. It would be interesting to note how different their respective offspring would be when they had some with Henry. Henry and Hermione, already, had taken each other's virginity, and Alexia had had to tell them to keep it down over the mental link that night.

At least Henry was no longer in Magical Britain. After they had transferred Voldemort to a cryostasis capsule, Alexia used Legilimency on the man's mind. Serendipitously, the effect of the virus had destroyed most of his defences in that regard, and soon, Alexia knew how the man became immortal: Horcruxes. She used her findings to create a list of Horcruxes, and sent it to Dumbledore. In exchange for this list, she wanted him to leave the Ashford household alone.

The old man reluctantly agreed, but not before sending Henry something that he considered to be his legacy: an Invisibility Cloak that had belonged to his father. There was a brief hiccup in the Horcrux hunt involving a locket, but Sirius, while looting his ancestral home of anything he could get, soon found it, finding out that his brother had stolen it in an attempt to try and stop Voldemort. Soon, the Horcruxes were destroyed…and Henry, under Alexia's watchful eye, fed poison into the cryostasis capsule containing Voldemort. Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, died in a cold sleep, never to awaken again. His remains were decanted and incinerated, only a small sample kept for testing purposes. Alexia and Henry learned of the prophecy that had set Voldemort on the course to killing Henry. The power Voldemort knew not though…Dumbledore believed it to be love. Alexia believed it to be the Sentinel Virus, though Henry pointed out that it was Alexia's love for him that had her give him first Veronica, and then Sentinel.

Magical Britain never forgot Harry Potter, though. How could they? He was their saviour, their little messianic figure. There were repeated calls from the Ministry of Magic to start attending Hogwarts once more, but they soon shut up when Henry attended tests for his OWLs and NEWTs, along with Hermione and Luna. They achieved high scores, and then, left back for Rockfort Island. They kept in contact with a few friends, namely the Weasleys, as well as the other Champions. Fleur Delacour soon became Umbrella's chief liaison with Gringotts, and married Bill Weasley last year. The last Henry and his friends heard, Ginny and Neville Longbottom were in a relationship. So too was Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory, while Ron and Susan Bones were in early stages of their own relationship. Krum was still pursuing his career in Quidditch for Bulgaria.

Fudge, whose administration had been supported by many Death Eaters, soon lost support with their deaths, and was replaced by the former head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones. Barty Crouch Junior, sadly, had died when a Dementor brought along by Fudge as a guard gave him the Kiss. Henry thought it justice, but it only complicated matters. The real Mad-Eye Moody had been rescued from his own trunk just in time to avoid death by dehydration.

Draco Malfoy, upon hearing about his father's death, became withdrawn. However, he soon learned, courtesy of an inheritance potion, that Lucius Malfoy was not his birth father, and he couldn't inherit the Malfoy fortune. In sheer fury, he nearly murdered his mother, calling her a whore that had spread her legs to a Muggle, before fleeing. Alexia recently learned that he had made contact with his real father, who turned out to be truly Albert Wesker. It seemed that Draco's pride didn't prevent him from joining a Muggle organisation like Umbrella, and Draco was already a rising star within Umbrella's American branch, being one of the chief go-betweens between the executives of Umbrella and the officials in Raccoon that they controlled. He had also vowed personal revenge on the Ashfords for the death of his father, something that Henry avoided being connected to publicly, but rumours persisted.

Of the teachers, the Ashfords and their inner circle kept in contact most with Snape, McGonagall, and Flitwick. The former felt better than he had for decades, now that Voldemort was dead, and Alexia and Henry kept up a correspondence about potions. Soon after Voldemort's death, he was finally accepted as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

As for that inner circle? Alexia and Alex Wesker were collaborating, whenever time allowed, on improving Sentinel. Already, they had created a new version with the prototype virus Alex and the other Wesker Children were given, and that inner circle now had it. They had managed to remove the 'eye problem', the reptilian eyes Alex Wesker ended up with. They even improved the base prototype virus, removing the need for serum injections and removing the eye problem. Time would tell if that came to bit them in the arse, if Albert Wesker ever used it.

Alexia found herself growing… _fond_ of Alex Wesker. While Sirius Black had become a lover of sorts, Alexia was using him more as a cicisbeo. She was surprised at the fact that she could feel anything like love for more than her son, and her father. But given that Alex Wesker was, if not an equal, then someone who approached her own intellect, and didn't have the same antagonism that Birkin had (and he was married anyway), she had a link of sorts that was growing. They had even kissed in a moment that had briefly shocked them, before they realised their mutual attraction.

Still, there was a lot of work to do, and Alexia found herself considering events in Raccoon lately. The American branch were trying to keep things under wraps, but apparently in May, there were simultaneous outbreaks both in the Executive Training Facility that used to be the fiefdom of Marcus, and the Spencer Mansion and its lab. For one lab to suffer such a thing was bad enough, but for two to do so simultaneously? That was caused by malice, she knew.

Umbrella's American branch was stymying her attempts to try and get a handle on the situation at every turn. They always claimed they had things contained, refusing to let her get involved, even as the newspapers around Raccoon City were filled with rumours of serial killings and strange beasts killing hikers in the Arklay Mountains. They were trying to establish her independence from her new vision of Umbrella. She had even changed the logo for Umbrella's European branch: instead of the blood red part of the parasol symbol, she had it changed to sky-blue.

A phone trilled on the wall, and with a snarl of annoyance, Alexia strode to it, and picked it up. "This is Alexia Ashford speaking," she said.

" _Lady Ashford, I have a call on the line for you. It's from Trent_ ," her secretary said.

Alexia nodded. "Very well. Put him on now."

After a moment, Trent came through. " _Alexia, as I'm sure you are aware, we have a problem. Only it has just become more complicated. The RPD are intending to mobilise STARS._ "

STARS. The Special Tactics And Rescue Service, a sort of SWAT team formed by the Raccoon City Police Department. Umbrella was keeping an eye on them, with their leader being none other than Albert Wesker. Alexia had been given dossiers on the various members, noting a number of them to be prodigies. There was Chris Redfield, a former Air Force officer, Jill Valentine, trained by Delta Force, Barry Burton, a SWAT veteran, and Rebecca Chambers, a child prodigy who was the field medic for Bravo Team. "That is far from surprising, Trent, given the American branch's stonewalling. The public were sure to notice something, especially as my containment improvements seem to have failed. Have you had any luck tracking down any saboteurs?"

" _None whatsoever_ ," Trent said. " _However, the few reports we have from the Executive Training Facility suggest that the saboteur or saboteurs acted from there. Sadly, our people sent there have been attacked. As it is, Birkin and Wesker have taken matters into their own hands. They intend to lead the investigation, before Wesker lures STARS Alpha and Bravo Team to the Spencer Mansion. He intends to use them to test the BOWs released, while he cleans up for Umbrella. However, I think he may be looking to leave Umbrella. Birkin is even preparing to give him the prototype virus. In fact, I think both Wesker and Birkin are planning to leave Umbrella. Wesker has been putting out feelers to other organisations with interests in bioweapons, and Birkin's looking to take the G-Virus and his other projects to the US government. He doesn't even seem to care about Annette or Sherry. However, it seems early days regarding Birkin._ "

"I knew they were opportunistic and treacherous, though I thought Albert might have considered staying, especially as he knows about Project W now," Alexia said. "Well, I think I have wasted enough time trying to be diplomatic. If these fools are so slow to clean up their mess, then I will have to show them how it is done. I am resorting to what they would call the nuclear option. Trent, I am sending my son over. I shall be sending him over to the Umbrella Executive Training Facility first to find out who is responsible for this mess. I shall send my protégés with him as well, along with Lisa. I want the American branch to know how seriously I am taking this, and how badly they have handled the situation. I also want you to contact key members of STARS covertly, those you think who are trustworthy."

" _Valentine, Redfield, Burton, and Chambers are definitely trustworthy_ ," Trent said. " _However, I think only Valentine will be approachable. I have heard word that Wesker is planning to use Burton's family as leverage, though as a bluff. I think Valentine, having had a father who had run afoul of the law, understands the need for discretion. Redfield might go blundering in, and Chambers is a bit too naïve, and may say the wrong things to the wrong people. What do you want me to do?_ "

"Give Jill Valentine information, covertly. I will send you a letter with Henry when I send him over to give to her. Warn her about a traitor in STARS, and that Wesker may use leverage on Burton. Also warn her that she may be aided by my son and her associates. Finally, give her information on the Spencer Mansion, as well as a couple of the important keys. If any members of STARS survive, I will deal with them myself. The American branch has taken too many liberties. They seem to have forgotten who is in charge of Umbrella. It is past time I reminded them."

* * *

A few days later, Henry, Hermione, Luna and Lisa were on the Ecliptic Express. Even now, Umbrella's American branch felt confident enough sending normal employees to the Executive Training Facility. Either those idiots wanted them to die, or else they were using them as bait to lure out the saboteur responsible for the outbreaks. The brass in the American branch had protested Henry and his companions coming, but they couldn't stop them.

 _So, who do you think's responsible for this mess?_ Hermione asked over their mental link. _And do you think we can find them? It's been two months since the initial outbreak at both facilities_.

 _We are going to look for clues. And in any case, we also need to intercept STARS before they get themselves hurt_ , Henry said. _Just have to hope that Trent does what he needs to do._

 _I don't trust Trent_ , Lisa said. _I still think he has his own agenda._

 _He does. If the American branch mess up too much, Alexia has given him leave to start exposing the dirty laundry of the American branch. The European branch may not come out of this smelling of roses, but the schism has actually helped the European branch distance themselves from the American branch_. Henry's eyes flickered over to Luna. _Do you have any thoughts, Luna?_

"Can't you hear that?" Luna asked out loud. Her eyes flickered over to a window. "Someone's singing…" Her eyes widened, and she pointed.

Henry looked to where she was pointing. It would have been hard to see without eyes enhanced by Sentinel. But on a hill in the distance, there was a human figure, apparently dressed in robes. Of course, Henry and the others could see little more than an outline.

Suddenly, several somethings landed on the windows. Several very ugly somethings, with jaws filled with vicious teeth. Henry stared in horror. These things looked like some sort of mutant leech! What was more, he could sense the T-Virus within them.

His eyes widened. "Shield charms!" he yelled. "Protect anyone you can!"

But it was too late. All they could do was erect shield charms over themselves (even Lisa, who had been given magic via Medea) as leeches broke in through the ceiling, swarming everywhere. They could hear the screams of people throughout the train as the leeches swarmed them and bit them, infecting them with the T-Virus. Someone pulled the emergency brake in a blind panic, and soon, the Ecliptic Express ground to a halt.

Henry glared at the leeches. They couldn't infect him and the others, as Sentinel conferred immunity to the other viruses, or at least caused them enter a state of asymptomatic infection. But they could possibly be a threat if they swarmed. With a snarl, he began using _Incendio_ spells on them, unwilling to risk using his blood in a confined space. At least the _Incendio_ spells were controllable. So too did the others, and the dining area was soon clear, more or less.

Lisa looked out of the window. In the distance, they could see the man perched on the cliff, and she had the feeling that he was looking at them, that he had marked them for destroying his underlings. "I think we may have found our saboteur," she remarked.

Henry looked out of the window as well. He could only agree with Lisa. Even so, things, it seemed, were getting even more complicated…

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED_** **…**

 **EPILOGUE ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it, the last chapter of** ** _Henry Ashford and the Goblet of Fire_** **. There will be a sequel (tentatively titled** ** _Henry Ashford and the Wrath of Marcus_** **), but it won't be out until later. It will cover the events of** ** _Resident Evil 0_** **(as you just saw) and** ** _Resident Evil_** **, at the very least. And yes, that is Marcus they have spotted.**

 **Now, I had wondered who to pair Alexia with. I considered with Sirius, but I eventually decided that Sirius is more like a cicisbeo, or male mistress (a term which I learned while writing** ** _Raison d'Etre_** **, one of my pure** ** _Final Fantasy IX_** **fics). I decided that she and Alex Wesker are bi, for the purpose of this story, making this the first overt femslash pairing I have done. That I remember, anyway. I thought, they're both female scientists, who probably think they're surrounded by idiots, and have a shared contempt for Spencer and the relics of his regime. I get the feeling that if they decided to have children, they'd probably engineer a clone or something. However, that pairing is more in the background than anything else.**

 **Yes, Trent will be playing a not-dissimilar role as he did in the novels, albeit as a reluctant underling of Alexia. Yes, Draco will have a role to play as an antagonist. Alexia will have more of a background role in the first sequel, though she will have more of an active role in the story's version of** ** _Resident Evil 2_** **and** ** _Resident Evil 3_** **. Henry and company will be helping STARS during these events.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this fic. Hope you enjoy the sequel when it comes out.**

 **No numbered annotations for this chapter.**


	23. SEQUEL NOTICE!

**SEQUEL UP!**

The first two chapters of the sequel to this story, _Henry Ashford and the Wrath of Marcus_ , have been posted.


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